Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
As much as the Brisbane Lions are “praying” that Lachie Neale escapes suspension to play in Saturday’s AFL grand final, the premiers are confident they can overcome the potential loss of their talisman to clinch a third successive flag by beating Fremantle at the MCG.
The Lions have appealed Neale’s one-game ban for a striking charge after the two-time Brownlow medallist hit Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan in an off-the-ball incident in Brisbane’s epic nine-point weekend preliminary final win over the Hawks.
Brisbane will know Neale’s fate on Tuesday night, with the club hopeful that at the very least the punishment will be downgraded to a fine, which would allow him to play in a fourth consecutive grand final.
If the Lions’ appeal fails, Neale is likely to have played his last match for the club, as he’s set to join Collingwood next season.
“It’ll be disappointing if he doesn’t play,” Lions midfielder Levi Ashcroft said.
“He’s obviously a huge part of our team. He’s in great form.
“Hopefully. he does play. We’re banking on that, but I feel like we’ve got a really good midfield that surrounds him.
“If it goes either way, we’ll be ready to go.”
Another member of Brisbane’s on-ball brigade, Jarrod Berry, who spends most of his time on the wing for the Lions, admitted “clearance beast” Neale would be “hard to replace”.
“He’s definitely important to us – that’s for sure,” Berry said.
“We’ll be sitting tight (on Tuesday night), praying that he’s getting off … (but) talking about adversity, one of our best traits has been able to deal with that.
“There’s no point putting any energy into it until we know exactly what the result is. Once we know, then we’ll start working out a plan.”
If Neale doesn’t play on Saturday, defender Noah Answerth, who has missed Brisbane’s past two games with an ankle injury, looms as his likely replacement if deemed fit enough to return.
Answerth returning to the 23 to replace Neale would lead to a reshuffle, which would put more on-ball responsibility on the likes of Levi and Will Ashcroft, Berry and perhaps even the versatile Jaspa Fletcher.
“We’ll see what happens with Lachie,” Fletcher said.
“The club will do their best to work with him, and us boys will get around him as well … (but) we’ve also got people that are ready to step up and play their role if needed.
“I’m just eager to play my role, and be part of such a great thing again. Any part I can play to help the team and have an impact, I’ll be super keen for.”
