Oppo Camp Former Freo player watch

[james haish]

It's easier to just blame the player leaving and call them a mercenary.

People have erased how bad that 17-18 period was. Not a single good news story came out of Freo, if we made the news at all it was another embarrassing scandal. One of the lowest periods of being a Freo fan, rivalling the Drum era.

 

[BStaff17]

I don't understand how any Freo supporter in their right mind could feel happy for him. It irks me when I hear this.

Although his decision to chase glory (and money) has now been vindicated, it doesn't change the fact that he's a mercenary and jumped ship when things got too tough. He's not the kind of guy you want with you in the trenches and I'd be pretty confident in suggesting that he would have jumped ship if Brissy fell of a cliff for some reason. He even wanted to come back to us during COVID when everyone in his club were subjected to the same restrictions and were having to deal with the same family issues. This is the character he is. He's transactional.

If memory serves me correct, his Manager was doing the Q&A on this very board around the time he decided to leave and we were all given lip-service about his commitment to the club and the future. Tim said he (Lachie) believed in the direction the club was heading and was committed to Freo for the long term. Well, we all saw how that turned out.

For all of Hogan's issues that he brought on himself, most people could see that he had to go to Sydney to work on himself and his mental health, and get out of the spotlight. Although I'm disappointed he couldn't fulfill his potential with us, I'm genuinely happy for him and where he's at now. Cerra returned home to his family and went to a club that could do the best deal for us because football for him "is just a job" at the end of the day. Neale's situation was nothing like this. He served his contract and provided good service to our club, but he stopped believing in us. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but as a member/fan, that doesn't sit right with me and it left a really bad taste, particularly after what his Manager told us.

Pav could have left numerous times and he didn't.

That's what broke my heart the most in 2015 PF was Pav wasn't going to get that premiership medal he richly deserved.

He's stuck through all the hardships and he could have gone to Collingwood and potentially won a comp there they were courting him in 2009-2010 but he didn't.

Same with Dave Mundy another loyal servant who stuck solid he could have got to free agency in 2017 when the window was shut and gone back to a Vic Club to chase a premiership but chose to stay and finish here for another 4 or 5 years in a rebuild.

At least we got him another finals series on the way out and nice honourable farewell on the G.

Lachie chose to leave and good luck to him the club was at fault as much it's worked out wonders for him but it leaves a sour taste in our mouths the club let it get to that point and he left with 12 months to go on his contract.

I would rather have copped the FA exit in 2019.

I just hope we can try and get there next year while Fyfe is still hanging on to get him a flag but the clock is truly ticking its in red time now for poor Nat.

 

[dont bowl there]

Text doesn't convey emotion very well, as your response shows.

Mercenary
Jumped ship when things got too tough
He's not the kind of guy you want with you in the trenches
He would have jumped ship if Brissy fell of a cliff for some reason
This is the character he is.
He's transactional.

Those are pretty emotional statements to make.

 

[Arkhitect]

Mercenary
Jumped ship when things got too tough
He's not the kind of guy you want with you in the trenches
He would have jumped ship if Brissy fell of a cliff for some reason
This is the character he is.
He's transactional.

Those are pretty emotional statements to make.

This doesn't read as "angry" to me. Bitter and disappointed are probably better descriptors that you should have used.

 

[Mags98]

Thanks for clarifying this. If it was post 2015 then I still feel like this is a relevant point to bring up. He left at the end of 2018.

Lachie knew where we were at as a club and that the rebuild process was going to take time. That was what was conveyed to us atleast.

But he didn't want to put in the time and effort and be part of that journey, and instead went to a club that was more advanced than us in their own rebuild. It still doesn't sit right with me as a fan, but you know, each to their own.

rubbish, brisbane had won5 games the year neale was traded. he was sold on what the lions were building and we couldnt, evidently lachie was right.

 

[im_a_lazy_sod]

It makes it harder for us as fans to not focus on ex players winning flags when our club seems so incredibly inept and not looking like getting one any time soon.

I’m sure players who left from 2012-15 weren’t seen in as much bad form because we were up there competing.

It’s easy to turn away from your own dumpster fire and start shouting at someone else while there’s has been cleaned up by one of your ex mates who saw yours was starting to catch fire and decided to cross the road and help them contain theirs instead

 

[Arkhitect]

rubbish, brisbane had won5 games the year neale was traded. he was sold on what the lions were building and we couldnt, evidently lachie was right.

How is this rubbish? Our rebuild started in 2016. We had only finished stripping the list back of the deadwood when Lachie left in 2018. Our list was bare whilst Brisbane had already drafted most of its premiership core by this stage and were looking to add the last key pieces through trade. This is why they went after Lachie and the reason why he didn't hang around.

He didn't want to put in the hard yards with us.

 

[dont bowl there]

This doesn't read as "angry" to me. Bitter and disappointed are probably better descriptors that you should have used.

Haha OK, I will retract the anger and replace that with disappointment. Your disappointment at Lachie leaving should be directed towards the club not the player.

 

[Nodgey]

Generally you wish players well when they leave for more opportunities e.g. Tucker, Logue, Meek.

But when one of your players ****s off when there's a sniff of hard toil on the horizon, then generally we don't wish those players well.

 

[freo_leo29]

Lachie Neale

9

Lachie Neale

Age

31

Ht

178cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.0

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

15.5

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.7

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

28.3

5star

K

13.9

5star

HB

14.4

5star

M

4.6

4star

T

4.0

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

7.4

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.0

3star

CL

0.4

3star

wins the Gary Ayres

Player of the finals



Was close to a Norm Smith but has won just about everything else now, not bad for pick 58

 

[s_wd6]

Lachie Neale wins the Gary Ayres

Player of the finals



Was close to a Norm Smith but has won just about everything else now, not bad for pick 58

Would be hard for him not to win it considering he played about two more finals games than anyone else

 

[FreoRicci]

IIRC it was personal issues for Neale - we'd recruited a heap of complete dickheads who were taking the piss and Neale, having no reason to stay in WA, decided to pull the pin.

Funny that.

Ended up with the biggest dickhead of them all, Zorko. Guess he has turned into one given his love for him.

 

[freo_leo29]

Would be hard for him not to win it considering he played about two more finals games than anyone else

Same amount of games as 20ish other lions players?

1 extra v Swans players

 

[s_wd6]

Same amount of games as 20ish other lions players?

1 extra v Swans players

Meant Lions vs other teams

 

[james haish]

Funny that.

Ended up with the biggest dickhead of them all, Zorko. Guess he has turned into one given his love for him.

Zorko nowhere near as big a dickhead as Kersten.

 

[Nodgey]

Holy crap. Kersten must have been some mega crazy ultra super uber monster dickhead if that’s the case.

 

[james haish]

Holy crap. Kersten must have been some mega crazy ultra super uber monster dickhead if that’s the case.

He was

Interesting re Duff and Quarters, I knew Neale and Kersten didn't see eye to eye, I didn't know Kersten roughed him up and slapped him around in front of his team mates.

Kersten really was an absolute blight on our football club.

There were a few other rumours at the time I can’t remember exactly but basically it made a lot of sense that Neale bailed. The club was a joke.

 

[ImperialPurple]

Funny that.

Ended up with the biggest dickhead of them all, Zorko. Guess he has turned into one given his love for him.

I remember after his first year at Brisbane he said Zorko was the best player he’d ever played with. Not Fyfe, not Pav. Zorko.