Lachie Neale may be 33 years of age but he still cops a tag now and then, as in the Geelong game earlier this year when he was targeted by Oisin Mullin, and by Hugo Garcia against the Saints. More often, oppo analysts go for inside-out specialists with more flash and hurt factor like Wil Ashcroft or Zac Bailey. Neale can have his quiet days when going head to head with a fellow inside mid who runs both ways, as in the Freo game against Andrew Brayshaw, but he has long since learned how to get involved in transitions to pad his stats out to premium status.
Lachie Neale may be 33 years of age but he still cops a tag now and then, as in the Geelong game earlier this year when he was targeted by Oisin Mullin, and by Hugo Garcia against the Saints. More often, oppo analysts go for inside-out specialists with more flash and hurt factor like Wil Ashcroft or Zac Bailey. Neale can have his quiet days when going head to head with a fellow inside mid who runs both ways, as in the Freo game against Andrew Brayshaw, but he has long since learned how to get involved in transitions to pad his stats out to premium status.
Lachie Neale has performed the very neat trick of maintaining his Dream Team scoring average despite shorter quarters in the coronavirus-curtailed 2020 season, meaning his fantasy tons count for a whole lot more in adjusted value. Perhaps more impressive is his Supercoach scoring rate has hit new highs, engineered mainly by a kick:handball ratio that has swung from about 2:3 to parity plus a new high in marks. He has been tagged in games this year but got his numbers regardless through superior workrate, and he is the most valuable fantasy player.
Pick Neale before Zod
Prized 2018 off-season acquisition Lachie Neale wasted little time embedding in the Lions culture. The midfield maestro attained 40 or more disposals in his first three outings, including a physical battering by Port, then accumulated an incredible 51 touches against the Tigers in round 23. The former Docker averaged the second most clearances and fourth most contested possessions in the league. He was tagged twice for two sub-80 fantasy scores. Neale has been a highly dependable fantasy weapon, missing a mere two games over the past six seasons and averaging 30 or more disposals in three of his last four campaigns. Inside mids are not often tagged, though that may change if opposition analysts start treating Brisbane more seriously given their top four placing in 2019. A highly prized asset with a very high ceiling but a floor lower than most fantasy premiums, Neale will be off the table within the first few rounds.
Lachie Neale was arguably the best recruit in a very active off-season trade period, recreating his best form from his time at Fremantle and filling the hole left at his new home of Brisbane by Dayne Beams. He was smashed from pillar to post last week at Adelaide Oval, but Port released the Sutcliffe tag when it became clear that tactic wasn't working. Neale can attract a tage, but with three or four other highly prolific mids next to him, that strategy might be used less often in the immediate future. His fantasy value continues to rise.
Neale bows to no one
Lachie Neale arrives at Brisbane after seven years at the Dockers with four seasons of elite-level inside midfield work on his CV, just in time to replace Dayne Beams. However, his play stays more inside with more handballs and contested footy. His numbers look most similar to those of Clayton Oliver except he trails by a long way on metres gained, underlining a relative lack of acceleration from packs. It has been a long time since he started his AFL life as a small forward. Brisbane has a raft of young kids coming through who provide more than enough run on the outside, so Neale's role will stay as a pack rat distributing to those who are more suited to playing in space. He is not an inside/outside threat like Beams, which means he will probably share centre time with the likes of Hugh McCluggage and Brandon Starcevich who do offer those skills. Expect him to work a nice tandem with Jarryd Lyons and reward an early pick.
Lachie Neale is the Docker's most damaging midfielder now in the extended absence of their captain Nat Fyfe, and many fantasy coaches have jumped onboard with him on the slide to finals in the hope that he is going to stand up for their sides as well as his own. He is a classic accumulator, but he can struggle under a tag and that is the major downside for picking him late in 2018 as Stephen Hill has lost a yard and there isn't anyone else you need to stop in that team.
Neale plays second fiddle
Coming off a season setting the all time AFL disposal record, Lachie Neale dropped a kick and five handballs per game over his previous numbers, with his tally of 120+ fantasy scores falling from nine to two. Occasionally he stayed forward, as in his four-goal effort in round 4. He let down his owners during fantasy finals with a groin injury in round 21, missing the following week and staying quiet in the last game. The obvious explanation for the drop off was the return of Nat Fyfe following his leg break in 2016. Given that Fyfe will continue to lead that midfield group for the foreseeable future, this appears to be more like Neale's natural level. He started AFL life as a small forward, and there is a prospect that he would start there more regularly if the various replacements for Hayden Ballantyne fail their auditions. He's an early round pick.
