Senior Lachie Neale (2018-) (Co-Captain)

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How Lachie Neale won his second Brownlow Medal, winning the count ahead of other AFL superstars

They usually say the first time is the hardest. For Lachie Neale last night, it seemed a magnitude harder than the last time he stood triumphant on the Brownlow Medal stage.

"It doesn't sit very well at the moment. I'm sure it will sink in at a later date," Neale said after the win.

"I'm pretty rattled, to be honest, so apologies if this doesn't go too well. I did not expect this."

It takes a lot to shake Neale on the field but, for a moment on Monday night, Brisbane's talismanic midfielder had seemingly met his match off it.

At the end of a crazy and chaotic count with 11 different leaders across the night, Neale stood alone on top with 31 votes.
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I'll just link to this but some interesting analysis of Lachie's season, definitely worth a read.
 
How Lachie Neale helped turn Brisbane around and lead the club back to a Grand Final

IN EVERY FOOTBALL club's rise from cellar dweller to the AFL Grand Final, there's always a series of landmark moments and seismic flashpoints that we reflect on as catalysts for the turnaround. For Brisbane, who will play minor premier Collingwood in Saturday afternoon's decider, the appointment of Chris Fagan as senior coach seven seasons ago is certainly one of those.

The long-time Hawthorn assistant and head of footy has had a profound impact on the Lions, introducing a similar game style and philosophy that had proved so successful during the Hawks' golden run. He has also become one of, if not the league's best, talent nurturers and player developers. And it was Fagan, along with at-the-time general manager of football, David Noble, who was responsible for the most significant Brisbane flashpoint since its famous three-peat at the beginning of the century: the savvy recruitment of Lachie Neale.

The signing of Neale in the 2018 off-season came at a time when the Lions were reeling. The club had finished bottom four in five consecutive seasons, and in reality, still desperately trying to pick up the pieces from player 'homesickness,' which had crippling effects earlier in the decade.

Between 2009 and 2014, Brisbane selected 19 players in the AFL draft. More than half of the players taken hadn't reached the end of their third season at the club before requesting trades back to their home states. They were, essentially, wasted picks, with very few unable to fulfill any promise before departing the club. It became a sick cycle, culminating in the infamous 'go-home' five in 2013, which saw Sam Docherty, Elliot Yeo, Jared Polec, Billy Longer and Patrick Karnezis all exit in a horror off-season.

The Lions had been desperate to lure a big fish in the hope that a genuine A-grader might just be able to alter the perception, promote loyalty and, most importantly, increase the tenure of the rest of the playing group. So when Neale ended his run at Fremantle, passed on a return to his home state of South Australia and opted to join Brisbane on a five-year contract, along with close friend Lincoln McCarthy and Marcus Adams, it was a sign that change was coming.

"He's a great character who brings lots of attributes into our football club that we want to stand for in where we're going," Noble said of Neale when the trade was finalised. "Apart from the depth of the midfield it adds to, he's in the age demographic that we want."

The signing of Neale illustrated two things to the league. One, the club was no longer in rebuild mode, and under Fagan it felt ready to begin contending as early as 2019. And two, it showed the Lions could be something of a destination club for other high-profile players seeking either a fresh environment or greater playing opportunities.

The following season, Callum Ah Chee crossed from the Suns. The next year, Joe Daniher departed the Bombers and signed with the Lions as a free agent. Charlie Cameron took his game to another level and Hugh McCluggage joined the conversation for best wingman in the league. Just like that, the premiership window was wide open, and Brisbane was suddenly a perennial finalist.

Since Neale's arrival, the club has won at least 15 games every season. And while they have fallen short of the ultimate success, the upward trajectory and potential to land a premiership has helped keep the core playing group together, including those with interstate family ties.

The most recent addition was Josh Dunkley. The former Bulldog, and 2016 premiership player, has added another dimension to the Lions' midfield this season. Dunkley played a starring role in Brisbane's come-from-behind preliminary final win over Carlton at the Gabba, keeping Blues captain Patrick Cripps extremely quiet, while also winning more contested ball than anyone on the ground.

"He's a phenomenal player. I think he's the best two-way player in the competition," Neale said of Dunkley, when speaking to ESPN after the preliminary final win. "He wins his own footy and usually plays on the most damaging midfielder for the opposition. He does it week in and week out. I'm really proud of 'Dunks' and what's he's done since coming to the club."

Neale's off-field impact has been seismic and yet it still may never match what he's achieved on it.

In his five years as a Lion, Neale has won two Brownlow medals -- his second gong being awarded on Monday night -- and finished on the podium in two other seasons. No player in the league has polled more Brownlow votes than him (124) since the beginning of 2019.

He has been awarded three All-Australian blazers, and only his ridiculously high standards, as well as some dubious selection calls, prevented him from adding a fourth to his closet this year. He's also a near certainty to claim Brisbane's best and fairest award for a fourth time, which would move him to outright second for most in club history. Again, he hasn't yet completed five seasons with the team.

The only accolade missing from his glittering resume is a premiership medallion, and on Saturday afternoon he will have an opportunity to correct that.

"I'm just really proud of this footy club, the players and everyone involved that's made this happen from where they were six, seven years ago," Neale told ESPN. "We've always had a growth mindset and to try to improve our football. Although our finals record at times wasn't great, it felt like we were building towards this. This year we've a bit of a different feel. It feels like we've matured a lot more. The group felt ready to take that next step.

"We're down to the final two and we've given ourselves an opportunity. [Collingwood] finished top for a reason; they're a great side, but we feel like we're a great side, too. It's going to be a flip of the coin as to who wins it. We've played them twice already this year and we think our best footy stacks up so we're excited for the challenge."
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Four key pillars in Brisbane's rise from the scrapheap to the GF

Lachie Neale (2018)

Of all the pieces, this one transformed the Lions more than any.

It dropped like a bomb following the 2018 season, with Fremantle's two-time best and fairest winner making the longest trip in the game from West Australia to Brisbane.

And remember, Brisbane was coming off two five-win seasons under Fagan at that stage. Neale was not coming to an established contender.

He saw promise in the list and was convinced to join. Surrounded by fellow recruit Jarryd Lyons, veteran Dayne Zorko and young mids McCluggage and Berry, Neale helped lift the Lions all the way to 16 wins and second place on the ladder.

The rest is history, with two Brownlow Medals, three best and fairests and now a co-captain alongside Andrews.
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Brisbane Lions Announce Updated Leadership Group

A resounding vote from the Brisbane Lions playing group has seen Harris Andrews and Lachie Neale re-elected as the Club’s Co-Captains for 2024.
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Neale: It's a Great Lesson

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Lachie Neale says Friday night's one-point loss to Carlton is a timely reality check for Brisbane, labelling its performance as selfish, lazy and believing of its own hype.

The Lions led by 46 points midway through the second quarter before a furious Blues rally saw them hit the lead midway through the third term, and ultimately snatch victory.

The shock defeat broke Brisbane's 14-game winning streak at the Gabba.

Speaking after a light training session at Springfield on Tuesday morning, co-captain Neale said Brisbane had no right to get ahead of itself.

"We probably thought the scoreboard was ticking along all right, so maybe that intensity dropped away a little bit and they were able to kick a couple late in that second (quarter)," he said.

"Our intensity and hunger for defence and contest dropped away and they punished us.

"I think it's a great lesson. I'm glad we learned it now and not later in the year that in AFL footy you've got to be on for 120 minutes."

Neale said the Lions were selfish for the 25-minute burst either side of half-time that got Carlton back into the game.

It came in defensive decisions and with ball in hand, he said.

"We probably chose some easy options and were a little bit lazy on defence sometimes," Neale said.

"We didn't dig in, and basically you're shitting on your teammates when you don't do that.

"(It happened) in open space as well, where guys should have passed it.

"Some of those handballs, take the first option then with the kick, trust yourself. Some guys were probably doubting their skills.

"Maybe guys bought into how good we are and how well we're going. It's a great reminder and this year especially, it's so even.

"We certainly know we're not ahead of the rest and are still chasing.

"We haven't achieved anything yet. We want to be the hunters."

Neale will contest a striking charge, via written submission, he received for a third-quarter incident involving Carlton midfielder George Hewett.

The dual Brownlow medallist said it was "strange" that Hewett's act was graded as careless and his intentional.

"I feel I probably didn't deserve a fine so we might fight that and see how it goes," Neale said.

"If the umpire paid a free kick, I might not have retaliated. I got a bit of a whack high."
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The Stats That Put Lachie At The Top Of The 250 Tree

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Lachie Neale will stamp an indelible mark on the AFL record books tomorrow night as the biggest 250-game possession winner in history.

With 6777 possessions from 249 games, the 30-year-old Lions co-captain already has the field covered ahead of his 250th game against Melbourne at the MCG.

With a game in hand he is 31 possessions ahead of fellow dual Brownlow Medallist Robert Harvey, whose 250-game possession count of 6746 for St.Kilda heads the current 250-game list.

Greg Williams, yet another dual Brownlow Medallist, is third at 6721 from Dane Swan (6716), Scott Pendlebury (6608), ex-Sydney champion Josh Kennedy (6571), Terry Wallace (6455), Joel Selwood (6406), Sam Mitchell (6401) and ex-Fitzroy champion Garry Wilson (6363).

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With 187 Brownlow Medal votes – and potentially three against North Melbourne last week and more against Melbourne in his 250th – Neale is currently fourth on the 250-game vote list behind Patrick Dangerfield (209), Chris Judd (201) and Dustin Martin (197).

Counting only half of votes received in 1976-77, when two umpires each awarded 3-2-1 votes in each game, and averaging votes in years where precise game-by-game votes are not available, the top 10 vote-getters at 250 games is completed by Gary Ablett Jnr (184), Selwood (183), Swan (180), Mitchell (177), Gary Dempsey (176.8) and Nathan Buckley (173).

Nat Fyfe, who had 187 votes from 218 games to the end of last season, will move into this elite group when he reaches 250 games.

In an elite competition like the AFL, in which statistics can sometimes be misleading, the Neale numbers are irrefutable.

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Still with plenty of good football left, he is 44th for possessions all-time since the AFL started keeping statistics in 1965, and #1 across the competition since his debut in 2011.

With 101 games of 30 possessions or more, including 13 40-possession games and a personal best of 53, he is 7th all-time for 30-possession games since 1965 behind Ablett (124), Mitchell (121), Robert Harvey (118), Pendlebury (115), Swan (108) and the Western Bulldogs’ Jack Macrae (104).

His 187 Brownlow votes, 13th in corrected Brownlow Medal votes all-time, has been bettered by only Dangerfield (246) and Martin (206) since his debut.

But even more compelling is his Brownlow record since joining the Lions. It is off the charts.

In 99 eligible games (non finals) in the Lions #9 jumper he has polled 124 votes at 1.25 votes per game – 26-31-8-28-31 year-by year - to win the game’s highest individual honour in 2020 and 2023, finish equal 3rd in 2019 and 2nd by a solitary vote in 2022.

The Western Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli’s 104 votes at 0.99vpg is next best over the past five years, with Melbourne’s Christian Petracca (93 votes at 0.88vpg), Carlton’s Patrick Cripps (93 votes at 0.93vpg) and Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver (88 votes at 0.83vpg) completing he top five.

That Dangerfield (66 votes at 0.79vpg) is 10th with barely half of the Neale total is confirmation of the Brisbane ball-magnet’s domination.

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They are astonishing numbers for anyone and even more so for a player who is officially listed at 178cm – tiny in comparison to the likes of Cripps (195cm) and Bontempelli (193cm) – and was something of an afterthought in his draft year.

Originally drafted by Fremantle at #58 in 2011, the Glenelg (SANFL) junior was overlooked by every opposition club – 12 times by GWS, four times by Brisbane, StKilda and the Western Bulldogs and three times by local clubs Adelaide and Port Adelaide.

Even the Dockers ignored him twice to take Tom Sheridan at #16 and Alex Forster at #29 - Sheridan played 81 games for Fremantle and two for GWS, and Forster played one game for Fremantle.

Brisbane preferred #8 Billy Longer, #12 Sam Docherty, #30 Elliot Yeo and #47 Patrick Wearden for a combined 49 games for the Lions and 381 games for opposition clubs. Wearden never played at AFL level, while Yeo, now at West Coast, and Docherty, on the injured list at Carlton, are still playing.

But what the Lions missed out on originally with Neale they made up for on 17 October 2018 when they pulled off a stunning trade for the 135-game Fremantle veteran, who had finished 6th-1st-2nd-1st in the Docker’s best & fairest from 2015-18 wearing jumper #27.

After a long stalemate in negotiations Brisbane gave up picks #6, #19 and #55 in the 2017 Draft for pick #30 and Neale, who was contracted to Fremantle until the end of 2019.

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It was a major change of scenery in a football journey that began when he was born Lachlan Oliver Neale on 24 May 1993 in Narracorte, a small town on the Limestone Coast of South Australia, about 335km south-east of Adelaide and 100km north of Mt.Gambier, which has hosted AFL matches during Gather Round the last two years.

His family lived briefly on a farm in Langkoop, near Apsley, a small town just east of the SA border, before settling in the nearby farming town of Kybybolite.

Nicknamed "Cowboy" after ex-St.Kilda great Kevin ‘Cowboy’ Neale, he played basketball, soccer, cricket and football as a youngster, beginning his football career in 2004 as a 10-year-old.

A Port Adelaide supporter in his early years, he attended prestigious St.Peter’s College in Adelaide on scholarship and played in Glenelg Under-18 premiership side as a bottom-ager in 2010.

In 2011 he played seven senior games in his first season and further pushed his draft claims when he won the best afield medal in the Under-18 grand final with 40 possessions in a losing side.

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He didn’t just roll into AFL football after a brutal early assessment from then St.Kilda coach Ross Lyon in 2012, who said he did not have long-term AFL potential unless he reduced his weight and increased his work-rate. But he learned quickly, and in his 23rd AFL game in his second season was the starting substitute in the Dockers’ 2013 grand final loss to Hawthorn.

Fast forward 11 years, 226 games and 16 more finals and Neale is still chasing the only thing that has eluded him – an AFL premiership.

It’s all that matters, now, as the Lions set themselves for a Demons side that beat both Adelaide clubs in Adelaide in their last two outings for a four-game winning streak that sees them second on a distorted AFL ladder after an opening round loss to Sydney in Sydney.

But historically at least Neale has one omen on his side – he has a perfect 4-0 record in milestones games – wins with Fremantle in his 50th and 100th games and with Brisbane in his 150th and 200th, when he also picked up three Brownlow votes.
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'We do need to look after him': Lions eager to help star

BRISBANE needs to do a better job looking after two-time Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale as opponents try to "get under his skin", says teammate Jarrod Berry.

Neale has been on the receiving end of extra close attention in 2024, with Carlton's George Hewett and Magpie Scott Pendlebury both receiving fines for off-the-ball incidents involving Brisbane's ace midfielder.

Geelong tagged Neale with rugged Mark O'Connor, and in the Lions' most recent outing it was Giant Callan Ward that upset the co-captain with his niggle.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's QClash against Gold Coast – an opponent that also roughed up Neale last year courtesy of Touk Miller – Berry said Brisbane had to do better at looking out for its three-time best-and-fairest winner.

"He's our best player," Berry said.

"We do need to look after him. We do need to help him out through those tags because teams are obviously coming after him and doing that, trying to get under his skin.

"Unfortunately, on the weekend it was the retaliation that got called, there was plenty of niggle going the other way that wasn't called.

"Like your parents say, it's the retaliator that always gets caught.

"Lachie will be better next week."
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How Brisbane Lions star Lachie Neale raised his game — and made AFL rivals pay

Is it possible Lachie Neale is still flying under the radar?

After a poor start to its campaign Brisbane is suddenly charting a course for September and it is on the shoulders of superstar skipper Neale that the Lions have flipped their season on its head.

Last year he was a distant fifth favourite entering the Brownlow count yet came from the clouds to clinch his second ‘Charlie’ and solidify himself among the pantheon of modern AFL greats.

Now Neale’s game has gone to another level in 2024 as he enjoys one of the best purple patches of his lucrative career.

Brisbane’s five-point victory over Melbourne last Friday was its fifth win in six games, catapulting Chris Fagan’s side into the top eight for the first time this season.

In that same six-game span Neale has been one of the top-rated players in the competition.

Since round 10, the 31 year old is averaging 31.5 disposals (AFL No. 3), 9.3 ground ball gets (No. 9), seven clearances (No. 7) and 8.2 score involvements (No. 5) per game.

It is the second-highest rated six-week block across his entire career, timed perfectly with Brisbane’s rise from finals pretender to contender.

But Neale is not just getting the ball in his hands. He is making the opposition pay.

If there has been any knock on Neale over the course of his 260-game career it is a perceived lack of damage by foot. His bread and butter has always been contested ball and clearance work, as one of – if not the best – proponents of both in the competition.

Last season he was ranked in the bottom 25 kicks in the AFL. This year he is among the top 15.

It is a dramatic shift that suggests even at 31, having already twice been recognised as the AFL’s best and fairest player, Neale is still toiling to improve his craft.

Following the agonising grand final defeat to Collingwood last season, he sat down with midfield coach Cam Bruce and the pair circled his kicking as a key growth area to work on ahead of season 2024.

“He identified he wanted to improve his kicking efficiency and so he made sure to train that a really high level of intent so that he could develop it and execute it in a game situation,” Bruce told this masthead.

“It all comes from his own personal drive. He has an unbelievable awareness of where his game is at and that makes him really easy to coach because more often than not he knows what he needs to improve and most importantly has the drive and determination to do what is required.”

Brisbane’s co-captain is also AFL No. 1 for goal assists since round 10. No player in the competition has been directly involved in more goals since the middle of May.

Over that same period he is also the third-highest rated kick in the AFL, behind only Jack Lukosius and Justin McInerney.

The Lions are the No. 3 ranked team for scores from stoppage over the past five weeks and Neale’s work in tight is a major reason why.

It was on show in the first quarter against Melbourne when he ran on to a Kai Lohmann handball at full pace, took the ball with one hand and accelerated away from the contest before hitting Eric Hipwood on the lead inside 50 with a pinpoint pass.

Neale’s clearance numbers are slightly down on last season, when he led the AFL, but Bruce revealed that was by design.

The Lions have made a concerted effort to take some of the load from Neale’s shoulders, spreading the contested work around and allowing him to play a more balanced inside-outside game.

Naturally, now that Neale is finding more ball on the outside he also has time and space to produce a more effective kick.

“We don’t want to be a midfield that is so reliant on Lachie winning the inside ball, which he is obviously one of the best in the competition at,” Bruce said.

“That’s the strength of having (Josh) Dunkley there. Hugh (McCluggage) has improved his inside game, (Jarrod) Berry has shown he is more of an inside bull and now we have (Will) Ashcroft back to add to the mix.

“With those guys taking on some of the load it means Lachie can complement his inside game with a more established outside game.”

What makes Neale so impressive is that even when tagged he very rarely has a poor game.

When St Kilda super stopper Marcus Windhager sacrificed his own game to run with Neale in round 14, Brisbane’s superstar still managed to grind out 20 disposals and seven clearances to leave his imprint on the contest.

It is a trait shared by few in the AFL. But one that has helped catapult Neale into the upper echelon of players throughout his career.

“That’s part of his game and his nature, that he thinks about others. When he does cop a tag, straight away he’s thinking about what is best for the team,” Dunkley told this masthead.

“That doesn’t translate to many players throughout the competition and that’s why he’s such a great player to play with. He’s very selfless in the way he approaches the game.”

Dunkley believes Neale’s off-field application has been just as crucial in establishing himself as one of the game’s greats.

“If you’re at the top level of the AFL you have certain skills that make you great, but the ones that take their games to new levels and new heights are the ones that are always putting in the extra work,” he said.

“They put work into not just the skill aspect of it all but even the thinking around it. I’m not talking about decision making, I’m talking about speaking to psychologists about what they are thinking about in certain moments.

“It’s all the little things they do, how they go out of their way to invest in their game and to me it’s no surprise why they’re the elite players in our competition.

“If you watch Lachie throughout the day you can’t really put a finger on exactly what it is (he has done to improve himself) but I feel it’s come more on the education side. He’s playing now like he just knows where his teammates are at all times, which is an incredible thing to be able to do.”

With a new-found offensive flavour to his game, the dual-Brownlow Medallist could be rounding into career-best form right as the Lions mount their September surge.

Bruce believes if Neale played for a Melbourne club, he would be spoken about as regularly as the likes of Marcus Bontempelli, Patrick Cripps and Nick Daicos.

“There’s no doubt he’s still underrated,” Bruce said.

“The same thing happened years ago with Simon Black. He deserved to be spoken about more, but he was just out of sight and out of mind.

“The noise around Brisbane isn’t as strong as in Melbourne.

“Lachie is one of the best midfielders in the game, and so consistent. He doesn’t kick as many goals as the Bont, or do the absolutely flashy things of some other players; he might not have the physical presence of someone like Cripps, but in terms of output he’s definitely at the same level, if not outperforming them.”
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Nine things we learned: This Bomber has plenty left to give

3) We can't discount a third Brownlow for Lachie Neale

As usual, there's plenty of contenders for the Brownlow Medal, with Patrick Cripps, Isaac Heeney (MRO pending), Nick Daicos, Marcus Bontempelli and Zach Merrett among the frontrunners, but don't discount two-time winner Lachie Neale. The Brisbane champion reminded everyone just how good he is against Adelaide on Sunday with another electric performance that included three goals from 22 disposals in the first half. The Lions didn't win many games early, but have got on a roll and Neale has proven a favourite with the umpires – for good reason – over many years. Often the catalyst in Brisbane wins, he's also had strong outings in a couple of its losses that could sneak a vote or two. Don't be shocked if he wins it again. – Michael Whiting
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Lifting the Lions: How stars have resurrected Brisbane's season

AFTER seven matches, Brisbane's season was at a crossroads, and not surprisingly it was co-captain Lachie Neale that has helped drag the Lions from the canvas.

With a 2-5 win-loss record Chris Fagan's team was languishing in 13th position with the finals appearing a long way off.

But like he's done through most of his distinguished career, the two-time Brownlow medallist found another level, and with it, the Lions rose.

By no means was Neale poor during those first seven weeks, but in comparison, what he's done in the past nine matches has been incredible.

As statistics from Champion Data show, he's more prolific, more damaging and having a bigger impact as the Lions have won seven and drawn one of the past nine, including a streak of five consecutive wins.

Starting with 34 disposals in the QClash win over Gold Coast in round eight, Neale has been almost unstoppable.

His average disposals have risen by almost five a game, with all of that coming on the 'outside' via uncontested possessions as he perfectly complements his prowess at the contest.

Neale's kicking efficiency over the nine-game stretch has leapt to 75 per cent (from 62), with his metres gained jumping from 275 to 401m a game.

Direct score assists have also improved by 60 per cent. Neale gave off a career-high six goal assists against Richmond and his three goals against Adelaide on Sunday was the second highest of his 261-game career, and the most he's ever kicked in Lions colours.

"Inspirational is the word I'd probably use," teammate Will Ashcroft said of Neale's form.

"You just love playing alongside guys like Lachie and 'Dunks' (Josh Dunkley) especially, who win it on the inside and make everyone else's jobs easier."

Neale has vaulted to third in AFL.com.au's Brownlow Predictor as he chases a third 'Charlie', while the coaches have also recognised his burst of excellence.

He has polled 44 AFL Coaches Association votes in the past nine weeks to jump into the top 10.
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It's a little ironic that Lachie had the desire to go back to Freo in 2022 but they weren't in the right part of their list build for it, and now both clubs are in the top 4 near the end of the regular season. If the trade had gone through, we'd probably be outside the 8 and Freo would be firmly top 2.
 
Johnny Bananas said:
It's a little ironic that Lachie had the desire to go back to Freo in 2022 but they weren't in the right part of their list build for it, and now both clubs are in the top 4 near the end of the regular season. If the trade had gone through, we'd probably be outside the 8 and Freo would be firmly top 2.
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Naah, we would have asked for Serong or Brayshaw.
 
2024 Coachlow Medal Update

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If the AFL coaches were judging the Brownlow Medal then Lachie Neale has just hit the front in the 2024 medal count.

Neale polled eight votes in the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year Award in Sunday’s Round 21 win over St.Kilda, and now has 25.5 votes in the notional ‘Coachlow’.

Coachlow? That’s what you get when you convert the 5-4-3-2-1 votes of each coach in each game into notional 3-2-1 Brownlow Medal votes.

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Effectively, the top three players in the coaches votes get 3-2-1 votes in the ‘Coachlow’, with ‘Coachlow’ votes split in the event of ties in the coaches votes.

So on Sunday, when Brisbane coach Chis Fagan and StKilda counterpart Ross Lyon collectively voted Neale (8), Cam Rayner (6), Oscar McInerney (5), Hugh McCluggage (5), Brandon Starcevich (3), Joe Daniher (2) and Harris Andrews (1) the ‘Coachlow’ votes were Neale (3), Rayner (2), McInerney (0.5) and McCluggage (0.5).

Among the other Brownlow fancies in Round 21, Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli and Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps polled three ‘Coachlow’ votes, Collingwood’s Nick Daicos one, and Fremantle’s Caleb Serong and Sydney’s Isaac Heeney did not poll.

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So the Coachlow leaderboard is:-

25.5 – Lachie Neale (Bris)
24.25 – Nick Daicos (Coll)
23.6 – Patrick Cripps (Carl)
23.0 – Isaac Heeney (Syd)
22.0 – Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
21.0 – Caleb Serong (Frem)

In what will be a reasonable pointer to the Brownlow, others with 10 or more ‘Coachlow’ votes are Bulldogs Adam Treloar (19), Gold Coast’s Noah Anderson (17), Essendon’s Zach Merrett (16), Port’s Jason Horne-Francis (15.6), Sydney’s Errol Gulden (15.5) and Chad Warner (15.5), Carlton’s Sam Walsh (14.75), Fremantle’s Hayden Young (14.5), Geelong’s Jeremy Cameron (14.5), North’s Luke Davies-Uniacke (14.33), Gold Coast’s Pat Rowell (13.4), GWS’ Jesse Hogan (13.5), Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw (13), Hawthorn’s Jai Newcombe (12.5), Port’s Zac Butters (12.1) Adelaide’s Jordan Dawson (11.5), Geelong’s Max Holmes (11), and Brisbane’s Josh Dunkley (10.5).

McCluggage (9), Dayne Zorko (8.5), Rayner (6.5), McInerney (5) and Joe Daniher (4.5) are next best of the Lions.

The most significant pointer in the ‘Coachlow’ is the fact that Neale has polled 8-9-10 votes with the coaches no less than nine times, include five 10-vote ratings in which both coaches considered him the best player on the ground. It’s the most in the League.

Bontempelli has polled a maximum 10 votes six times – most in the field – but has only one nine-vote rating and no eight-rate ratings.

Similarly, Geelong’s Jeremy Cameron has five 10-vote ratings – and nothing else.

Daicos, Treloar and Merrett have four 10s, while Bontempelli, Anderson and Heeney have seven times polled 8-9-10 votes, and Cripps, Serong and Treloar six.
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Senior Lachie Neale (2018-) (Co-Captain)

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