Richmond will have most of the six months to ponder one question: Why wasn’t more done to stop Lachie Neale?
Neale has shot back into Brownlow Medal favoritism this season, but he saved perhaps his best performance for a game that won’t be part of that voting process, with his 39-out, 15-punt effort in Thursday’s impressive game by the night. two point elimination final win over Richmond.
As the AFL world tried to unpack what it had just witnessed when the final siren sounded, one thing was clear to analyst David King.
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“I think at the end of the game, you have to sit down and say what did Richmond do with Lachie Neale, who was the only problem all night? Nothing seemed to change,” he told Fox Footy after Thursday’s game.
“It was relatively intact overnight. I think after reflection, the Tigers will be disappointed with the way they handled that matchup.”
Neale’s teammate, Zac Bayley, was among the Lions players and coaches who praised Neale after the impressive victory.
“He’s an amazing player,” he told Fox Footy.
“He prepared really well in the off-season and improved his running ability to be able to do that in the game and when he’s on the field, I guess that speaks for itself.
“He’s an incredible player.”
That work rate Bayley talked about was evident in a stat that left King stunned.
“He played the last 90 minutes of the game, which is unbelievable,” he said.
“A midfielder taking the contact that he is taking and running the kilometers that he is running at the speed that he is exploding, playing the last 90 minutes is just ridiculous.”
For the Tigers, King said, a review of the plan around Neale was imperative.
“We always say don’t be beaten by what you know,” he said.
“Damien Hardwick in pre-match said we’re not going to compete on clearance, we like to get the next ball back. Brisbane has kicked 7.2 since the settlement…Lachie Neale is responsible for 4.1.
“He single-handedly beat them… you took a chance and rolled your snake eyes.”
Neale himself admitted that he dealt with nerves before the game as the Lions prepared to try to rectify a 1-5 record in the finals under coach Chris Fagan.
“I was pretty anxious before the game to be honest,” he told Fox Footy after the game.
“I probably showered for 20 minutes before driving to the ground today, just to reset and get ready for tonight, which I usually don’t do.
“Usually I’m much more calm and just flowing in the game, but I felt quite anxious. But I think that’s a good thing. I’m really proud of the guys, it was an amazing effort to cross the line at the end and we’ve gone through a bit in the last couple of weeks so yeah it’s nice to get that but now let’s go to the next one. ”
Fagan was one of many in awe of Neale’s performance.
“That’s how he did it. It was so clean and it was a high-pressure, fast-paced game,” he said after the game.
“His ability to pick up the ball cleanly and give it to his teammates was outstanding. It was one of the greatest final games you’ll ever see.”
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