Brisbane will appeal the AFL tribunal’s decision to uphold Lachie Neale’s one-match ban in a bid to keep the star midfielder’s grand final hopes alive.
Neale copped the suspension for striking Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan from the match review officer on Monday before a marathon tribunal hearing on Tuesday night ended in disappointment.
The Lions will now take it to the AFL appeals board, which has limited grounds for a challenge, with the clock ticking down towards Saturday’s premiership decider against Fremantle at the MCG.
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“The Brisbane Lions confirm the club will appeal the tribunal’s decision regarding Lachie Neale,” the club said on Wednesday.
“The club will make no further comment while the matter remains ongoing.”
The appeal is expected to take place on Thursday.
Brisbane will have to prove the tribunal finding was either an error of law, an unreasonable decision, a manifestly excessive classification, or a manifestly excessive sanction.
At the tribunal Neale claimed he only bumped Ginnivan, who he accused of diving, before Brisbane leaned on Neale’s exemplary record of never having been suspended in his 320-game career.
The tribunal rejected the “inconsistent” evidence and found it was “a forceful blow delivered with a swinging arm and an open hand”, and then chair Jeff Gleeson KC noted it was “not the first occasion on which Neale has been found to have struck his opponent”.
He also noted the purpose of the AFL’s so-called gut-punch law introduced this year. Nine other players had been banned for the offence this season.
“The purpose of the guideline is to stamp out this very sort of conduct. Neale ignored it and he knew the consequences,” Gleeson said.
“Being of Neale’s outstanding record does not render a one-match suspension for that act inappropriate or unreasonable.”
Neale’s father Robbie told ABC radio on Wednesday that the dual Brownlow medallist would have been “in two minds” about an appeal.
“Lachie won’t want the distraction for the team … I’m sure he’ll get the right advice,” Robbie said.
“To me it’s just plain wrong, so I hope they do appeal it.”
Noah Answerth is expected to return from injury if Neale’s appeal fails.
Should the Lions succeed and Neale is made available, Answerth could yet come into the team to help counter Fremantle’s small forwards.
In that case Ty Gallop, who won last year’s premiership in just his sixth AFL game, could again find himself on the outer after being on the selection bubble in recent weeks.
The appeal drama makes for a second straight year Neale has been in the headlines in grand final week.
Last season the then co-captain overcame a calf injury suffered in the qualifying final to be named Brisbane’s substitute against Geelong.
He came on at half-time — when the scores were level — and had 17 disposals and a goal as the Lions won by 47 points.
The 33-year-old has played every game of the Lions’ 2026 campaign to date in his bid to win a third straight premiership but may have already made his last appearance.
Neale is out of contract at the end of the season and widely tipped to join Collingwood on a multi-year deal.