Neale: Still in Disbelief

Still in a state of disbelief less than 12 hours after winning his second Brownlow Medal, Brisbane champion Lachie Neale has spoken about ‘that’ game against Greater Western Sydney.

On a night when Neale roared to victory with 31 votes to edge out Marcus Bontempelli (29) and Nick Daicos (28), his round six performance against the Giants raised a few eyebrows.

In a game where Charlie Cameron kicked seven goals and Josh Kelly (41 disposals) and Stephen Coniglio (38) had plenty of the ball, it was Neale who got the three votes with 20 touches that included six clearances.

The man himself said he was “surprised” to grab three that game, but mused that that was the beauty of the Brownlow Medal.

“There were probably games I thought I would poll through the middle part of the season where I didn’t pick up votes or polled one where I thought I might get two or three that game, so I think it comes around, swings and roundabouts,” Neale said on Tuesday morning.

“Yeah, I was lucky that game to poll, but maybe unlucky in some others, so I don’t really know, that’s the beauty of the Brownlow, isn’t it? 

“You never know how the umpires are going to vote, and fortunate that it fell my way in the end.”

Winning a second ‘Charlie’ has come in a year where Neale missed All-Australian selection despite finishing fifth in the AFL Coaches Association MVP.

He said it hadn’t sunk in and probably wouldn’t until the off-season.

The 30-year-old paid credit to a man he will line up against at the MCG on Saturday.

“I want to give a shout out to Nick Daicos,” Neale said.

“If it wasn’t for his injury, I think the medal would have been his and he would have been a thoroughly deserving winner. 

“I feel for Nick. He’s had so much pressure and intensity and scrutiny on him this year. The way he’s performed has been amazing to watch.”

Neale said his focus was now on Saturday, which will be his second Grand Final after coming on as Fremantle’s substitute in the 2013 loss to Hawthorn.

Brisbane had an open training session at Springfield on Tuesday, with thousands of fans packing the new training headquarters.