Lachie Neale arrives in Melbourne with a grand final suspension hanging over his head

Lachie Neale and his teammates arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday to a mixture of Lions faithful, and media waiting to hear just what he’d say about the one-match ban set to rule him out of Saturday’s grand final against his former club, Fremantle.

The Lions confirmed earlier in the day that they would appeal the decision handed down by the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night in a last-ditch bid to free the superstar onballer to play.

Neale, coach Chris Fagan, and the rest of the Lions arrived shortly before 4pm to a sea of people. While Fagan greeted fans warmly, and Will Ashcroft and Hugh McCluggage posed for photos, the man of the moment, Neale, approached the cameras with his head down and face partially concealed by a yellow Bears cap.

He gave a brief statement to reporters, confirming the club’s appeal.

“The club and myself have decided to appeal the tribunal’s decision, obviously very hopeful that that’s successful, but regardless of the result I will be here to support the boys and the club this week,” he said.

“It’s a big week for the club.”

His statement lasted just 15 seconds, and he did not take any questions from media.

It’s the second year in a row that Neale’s availability to play in the league’s biggest game will go down to the wire, after he overcame a calf injury last year to be subbed on at half-time and have a telling impact against Geelong.

Neale’s fate this time around rests in the hand of the AFL appeals board, led by chairman Richard Loveridge. The appeals board has the power to overturn the tribunal’s decision and will sit on Thursday afternoon at 4pm local time.

On Tuesday night, Neale unsuccessfully contested the one-match ban imposed on him for striking Jack Ginnivan during the preliminary final clash against Hawthorn.

Not even Neale’s record of avoiding suspension in 320 AFL matches for the Lions and Dockers saved him from losing his shot at the Lions’ hat-trick of premierships.

The tribunal was highly critical of Neale, saying he gave “inconsistent” evidence about his clash with Ginnivan, as the Lions desperately tried to have the impact downgraded from medium to low, allowing Neale to be fined instead and to be able to face Fremantle at the MCG.

Neale’s long-time teammate Dayne Zorko sat next to him on the plane and spoke with media at the airport, noting he was disappointed for his teammate, but said the Lions would remain focused.

“Obviously, it’s a lot,” Zorko said when asked how Neale was doing.

“He seems to be fine… he’s just taking it in his stride.”

When asked what his view was on the incident and the debate surrounding it, Zorko replied, “You don’t want my opinion, mate”.

When asked if the penalty was worth a match ban, Zokro replied: “No”.

“He’s [Neale] got an impeccable record, you’d like to think that would hold a fair bit of weight, maybe it doesn’t,” he added.

Neale’s father Robbie spoke with ABC Adelaide on Wednesday morning and said his son would not want to be a distraction for the team.

“So I think he’ll be in two minds this morning as to the way forward. I’m sure he’ll get the right advice,” he said.

“To me, it’s just plain wrong, so I hope they do appeal it.

“The last thing Lachie wanted this week was a headline. It’s just so disappointing,” he added.

Neale’s case tested the AFL’s crackdown on gut punches and whether a player should be granted leniency after 15 AFL seasons without a suspension.

However, former Fremantle captain David Mundy said on Wednesday the tribunal had been right to suspend Neale.

“It’s, obviously, a horrible outcome for Lachie and his prospects this weekend. But I think the AFL has been very clear in its mandate to try and stamp out that sort of action and behaviour,” he said.

“I am very confident we’ll be talking about it again after Thursday night’s appeal [should it go ahead], but I think the messaging from the AFL and his tribunal have been very clear.”

The Lions’ opponents on Saturday, the Dockers, are the club Neale started his career at. And it’s widely accepted that he is poised to join a third club, Collingwood, in the weeks ahead, meaning if the ban is upheld by the appeals board, he will have played his last game in Lions colours.

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