Superstar Lion Lachie Neale has put to bed rumours of a trade request, with the reigning Brownlow Medallist confirming he’s committed to seeing out his contract in Brisbane.
Just 24 hours after the Lions were bounced out of the finals in straight sets on the weekend, the AFL world was sent into meltdown following reports Neale was targeting a trade back to his former club, Fremantle.
It was widely reported that family reasons, with wife Jules heavily pregnant, had prompted a desire to return to Perth, where Neale started his AFL career with the Dockers.
With two years to run on his contract with the Lions, Neale confirmed he plans to stay put and remain in Queensland.
“It’s been a whirlwind few days and everything’s got a little bit out of hand but I’m fully committed to the club,” he told media after the meeting.
“Clearly as a lot of people know my wife is heavily pregnant, she’s from WA – a lot of family and support network and friends in WA. Behind the scenes, we had a couple of conversations about how that looked moving forward.
“After sitting down and talking through it with our family, our friends and with the club and with my management team, it became pretty clear after a couple of days this was the best place for us.
“Firstly for my footy and secondly we believe we can get the support network around us we need.”
Neale confirmed he’s motivated to win a premiership with the Lions.
Brisbane have finished in the top four for three straight seasons, but have only managed one win in the finals in that time. They have lost five finals over the same period.
“One of the biggest things as well is I’ve got unfinished business here, I want to be holding up a cup in a Lions jersey and that’s what I’ll be working towards of the next couple of years,” Neale added.
“Super excited to be here and can’t wait to get going again next year.”
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