Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan says there is no risk surrounding Lachie Neale’s calf for AFL grand finalCraig O’DonoghueThe West AustralianFri, 26 September 2025 9:11AMCommentsCommentsEmail Craig O’Donoghue
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has declared that Lachie Neale is 100 per cent fit and the club took no risks by selecting him for Saturday’s grand final against Geelong.
Neale was ruled out for the season after tearing his calf in the qualifying final but has completed an extraordinary recovery to play in the grand final.
While it appears the club is taking a risk, Fagan was in no doubt about his co-captain’s ability to play.
“There’s no risk. We wouldn’t play him if there was a risk,” he said.
“He trained heavily on the weekend and has done both training sessions this week. If you watched him train, you’d be mad not to pick him. The medical people have ticked him off, so that’s what we’re doing.”
Neale was one of the best players on the ground in last year’s premiership win over Sydney despite carrying a foot injury.
His ability to play in big games is one of the hallmarks of his career and co-captain Harris Andrews was thrilled he has recovered to play.
“It’s obviously massive,” Andrews said.
“He’s been a huge part of the team for the last six or seven years. He’s an unbelievable footballer and a real spirit lifter within the group. To see how hard he’s worked since that qualifying to get back and play has been inspirational. We’ll certainly be leaning on him to come in and make an impact.”
Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield said the Cats would do their best to make Neale run throughout the match.
But he warned it would be foolish to underestimate what Neale is capable of.
“Two Brownlows, multiple All-Australians and best and fairests – the guy has done it all,” Dangerfield said.
“We have respect for how bloody good he is. He didn’t complete the whole game last time and finished with mid 30s. He’s an absolute star.”
While Neale proved his fitness to play, Jarrod Berry is this season’s heartbreak story for the Lions. Just as ruckman Oscar McInerney couldn’t play because of a shoulder injury last year, Berry will be forced to watch from the sidelines with the same injury.
Fagan said it was even tougher not being able to select Berry because the midfielder had initially thought he’d be able to recover in time to play.
“Oscar was pretty easy. He was adamant he couldn’t play. Bez wanted to try which is natural enough because he’s a competitor,” Fagan said.
“There was part of him that didn’t want to let his teammates down by not playing. And there was part of him that didn’t want to let his teammates down by playing and then (if) his shoulder pops out, he’s out of the game.
“In the end he arrived at that decision himself As hard as it is, it’s common sense. His shoulder has popped out two times in tree or four games.
“It would be looser the second time around than it was the first time. It requires surgery.”
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