AFL: Lachie Neale Shines in 250th Game Victory

Lachie Neale starred in his 250th AFL appearance as Brisbane made an emphatic statement, with a robust performance, by knocking over Melbourne at the MCG.

Criticised heavily for their poor start, which included two defeats at their usual fortress Gabba, and rumours of a rift between players following a trip to Las Vegas over the summer, something denied by the club, this was a perfect response.

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The Lions showed the kind of form that had bookies installing them as one of the flag favourites as they led for nearly the whole evening and dominated the Demons.

Speaking in the rooms, the two-time Brownlow medallist (pictured below with his daughter Piper) said “The boys were unbelievable tonight with their pressure and effort. It was amazing, super proud of the guys and can’t thank them enough for making it such a special night for me.”

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He went on “I thought we found our brand, our style last week and it showed tonight as well on a big stage against what I think is the benchmark team in the comp.”

“Maybe the pressure of coming into the season as one of the favourites took a bit of a toll on us mentally, who knows, but we are just playing with a bit more freedom these last couple of weeks, so we’ll ride that wave while we can.”

In what proved to be another excellent, action-packed weekend of footy, there were three fixtures settled by less than a goal, which created some very tense moments.

Jason Horn-Francis scored what proved to be the winner with Port Adelaide managing to hang on and get over the line against Fremantle at a packed Oval.

However, hearts were in mouths for the home supporters as Caleb Serong could have snatched it for the Dockers at the death but fired across the face of goal for a behind, before the Power could finally breathe a huge sigh of relief on the siren.

Substitute James Peatling was the hero, taking a clutch contested mark with just 27 seconds remaining, as Greater Western Sydney beat St.Kilda by just a single point.

The Giants, who went five-zip for the first time in their club history and are on top of the ladder, looked to be cruising to victory; the fast-finishing Saints had other ideas.

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The visitors booted six in a row and, with full momentum behind them, were on the offensive looking for a winner when the 23-year-old (pictured below), on for the injured Sam Taylor who had to be taken to hospital, made a brave and vital defensive interception.

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Post-game, on that moment, he told Giants TV “I wasn’t really thinking, just that I needed to get back and the ball came my way, so I just knew that I had to go. I was pretty comfortable having Pez (Harry Perryman) in behind me because I knew he wouldn’t let me get hurt, so I just went with full confidence.”

“I saw a sign up at the centre bounce clearance, so knew there was under a minute and I just tried to take as much as I could off the clock after I took the mark.”

He added “It’s been good to get a bit more game time, unfortunate with circumstances; it is a good start to the year and we know we aren’t playing the best footy that we can yet. But we are still getting away with wins, so there is a lot to work on and we’ll go back in on Monday and keep looking to improve. We’ll take a lot out of this game and move on to the next.”

Completing the trilogy of close ones, in what will go down as a bit of an upset, Adelaide defeated the previously unbeaten Carlton, in a thriller, on their home deck.

A pulsating contest throughout, in which the lead changed on 15 occasions, 22-year-old Sam Berry was the toast of the town, back in South Australia, as he popped up, with just 78 seconds left, to put the ball through the big sticks and seal it.

A rare success on the road for the Crows – just their tenth out of the last forty under coach Matthew Nicks (pictured below), in his four years at the helm, and a real moment to savour.

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Speaking in the presser, he said “It’s amazing what one kick can do to a changing room. It was a great game of footy, in the balance right the way through and we came out on top in the end. I’m really proud of the grit they showed.”

“For a period there, with about three minutes to go, it didn’t look like that was going to be the ending. But, we dug deep, got so many areas of our game right; it was a big moment for our group. Not only a win on the road, but a close one on the road – a couple of things we haven’t done. It’s a great result and it means a lot.”

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Following the disappointment of last weekend, the ‘Essendon Edge’ was back in full effect as they claimed the EJ Whitton Cup by getting up over the Western Bulldogs.

Now in its 30th anniversary, the honour is named after legend Ted (Edward James) Whitton, nicknamed ‘Mr Football’, and has been contested between the two clubs since 1995 – his son presented Bombers captain Zach Merrett with the trophy.

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The attendance of 50,144 was the largest for an AFL/VFL match at Marvel Stadium since 2013 and the Bulldogs’ largest for a home-and-away match since 2009.

Jake Waterman (pictured below) booted a career-high six majors as West Coast recovered from a slow start to secure a rare success, only their sixth in the last three years, and get the chocolates against Richmond before a vocal crowd of 47,665 at Optus Stadium.

He told the club’s website “It was a bit of a rough start but knew we had much more to offer. I was able to get on the end of a couple and stick them through and we just snuck out a win. Unbelievable and such a relief!”

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“We have got to enjoy these moments because the club has gone through a pretty tough couple of years – it makes it all worthwhile, moments like this.”

A devastating second quarter by the hosts saw them seize control and go on to make it their strongest first half since 2021 – from there, they never looked back.

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Youngster Harley Reid (pictured above, left), once again, showed all the qualities as to why he was the number one draft pick, while midfielder Elliot Yeo (pictured above, right) became the first AFL player to have 15 clearances (equal career-high) and multiple goals in a match since 2017.

Key forward Jeremy Cameron (pictured below) enjoyed a big afternoon out, kicking a bag (season-high six snags) as Geelong hammered basement outfit North Melbourne.

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The result means that the Cats continue their dominance with a twelfth straight triumph over the Kangaroos – the second-longest current winning streak in the AFL.

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Ben King grabbed a four-goal haul as Gold Coast got back on the right side of the ledger, proving too strong and torching a hapless Hawthorn in a 53-point demolition.

Coach Damien Hardwick continues to give opportunities to his younger players; he would have been delighted to have seen Jed Walter, in just his third start along with second-gamers Ethan Read and Sam Clohesy all making valuable contributions.