Brisbane Lions co-captain Lachie Neale desperate to return to his best form against Collingwood

Two-time Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale “loves big games”, so he’s determined to produce a matchwinning performance against Collingwood.

Lachie Neale hopes to return to his best against Collingwood. Picture: Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Lions co-captain Lachie Neale is eager to “stand up and deliver” against Collingwood on Saturday at the MCG after being unhappy with his performance in Brisbane’s loss to the GWS Giants.

Having won nine successive matches to climb to second spot on the AFL ladder, the Lions’ top-four hopes, and perhaps even their chance to play finals footballs, are suddenly in jeopardy after dropping to fifth place after being beaten by 18 points by the Giants last Saturday at the Gabba.

Two-time Brownlow medallist Neale has taken some responsibility for the loss after the Giants dominated the midfield contest for the final three quarters of the game after Brisbane had gone to quarter time with a 30-point lead.

“I put my hand up,” Neale told Fox Footy’ AFL 360 show.

“I didn’t have a very good day around the ball. That’s my one-wood, and why I’m in the team basically, to win contested ball for the team, and I wasn’t able to execute my role on the weekend.

“Other (midfielders) in ‘Dunks’ (Josh Dunkley) and ‘Hughie’ (Hugh McCluggage) would put their hands up as well, and even our wingers and our half-backs got beaten inside the contest at times.

“We all take responsibility, and it was a really good learning curve for some of our players.”

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— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) August 13, 2024

Neale is intent on bouncing back against the Magpies, saying he had “maybe been a little bit quieter in a couple of games in the last month” of a season that he believed also included some of the “best footy” he had “ever played”.

“It’s been one of my stronger seasons. I’ve added a couple of strings to my bow,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to another finals series, hopefully. I don’t think we’re fully in yet. Hopefully, we can play some September footy and perform on that stage.

“I love big games and this weekend is a massive game for our footy club, so hopefully I can stand up and deliver my role and get the four points for the team.”

It will only be the Lions’ second match at the MCG this season after beating Melbourne there by 22 points in April.

“We’ve only played there once so far this year, and we’re looking forward to getting back there and having a crack,” Neale said.

The Lions will run into a desperate Collingwood, with the reigning premiers’ season on the line in the battle between last year’s grand final teams.

“They’ve got us the last two times. They beat us at the Gabba earlier in the year and obviously in the grand final last year,” Neale said.

“We felt like last year we had some great battles with them. They’ve got so many weapons that can kill you, so we’ll have to be on, playing our best footy to have a chance, and we look forward to the challenge.”