Lachie Neale responds to ugly claims around Brisbane Lions as wife Jules speaks out
A Lions have faced a wave of scrutiny over the Las Vegas trip that several players went on.
Brisbane Lions superstar Lachie Neale says the controversy around a post-season trip to Las Vegas has armed his teammates with added motivation, but denies it has caused a rift within the AFL playing group. The Lions have been dealing with the fallout from an end-of-season trip that Neale and some of his teammates went on last year, after reports emerged that one of the travelling party "accidentally uploaded a WhatsApp group chat to iCloud", with the content then shared between the players' partners.
It was also reported that "some of the wild antics being discussed in the group chat" resulted in at least one relationship ending as a result of the Vegas trip. The club has since denied the saga played a part their lacklustre opening to the 2024 season, amid reports that a "splintering" of the playing group contributed to their 0-4 start, before getting their first win in last week's 70-point thrashing of North Melbourne.
Neale sat out the final quarter of the Gather Round thumping of the Kangaroos as he nurses a minor ankle injury but is confident of being right for Thursday night's blockbuster against Melbourne at the MCG. The two-time Brownlow Medallist denied the ugly claims about the Vegas trip had brought his side closer, but did admit it provided them with added motivation to prove the critics wrong.
“I don’t know if it makes us closer – we’re pretty close as it is,” Neale said. “To be honest, I haven’t seen any splintering or anything at all, we feel like we’re a pretty tight-knit group all the time. Having that questioned I suppose, or put in the public forum maybe does give you an extra one or two per cent. But I thought the guys really celebrated on the weekend – our goals, our smothers, tackles, all the little things, we celebrated them well, which was probably lacking a little bit in the first couple of weeks.”
Julie Neale breaks silence over Las Vegas drama at Lions
Neale's comments come after his wife Julie became the first partner to break her silence this week over the Las Vegas controversy. She described her marriage to Neale as "solid" and said she was unaware of any strain from within the playing group, after revealing the players' partners had "great relationships" with one another.
“Every relationship has different pressures, it’s important to keep the outside noise out, in any relationship regardless of it being in the public eye, unfortunately, it’s inevitable that people are going to have their own opinion," Julie Neale told The Sunday Mail. “I think Lachie and I have a really solid relationship, which is all that really matters... We all have great relationships, however a lot of people forget that the club is just a fraction of our lives, so we all have great friendships and lives outside of this as well."
Brisbane now turn their attentions to Thursday night's cash against the high-flying Demons, who have won their last four straight games to sit second on the ladder. Neale said ankle soreness stemming from the round three loss to Collingwood was behind the decision to sit out the final quarter against the Kangaroos in Adelaide, but is confident he'll be right for his 250-game milestone on Thursday night.
“(The ankle) is feeling pretty good, it’s pulled up well, so probably the extra quarter’s rest helped I reckon,” he said. “Like everyone I’ve got to tick off some agility and speed and whatnot to make sure I’m ready to go, but it feels better than this time last week so I’m really confident that I’ll be good to go Thursday night.”
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The Lions have a tricky upcoming run of fixtures, with the Demons clash to be followed by games against unbeaten duo Geelong and GWS. But Neale is buoyed by the fact his side finally clicked in their last match and is confident they can build on that momentum.
"We hadn't had the start to the season we wanted to and I wanted to lead the way in that department and just get back to my best," Neale said of his brilliant first quarter against the Kangaroos. "I got back to my best brand with fast feet and clearances and being clean. Felt pretty sharp early on, but I thought all the boys were on. It seemed like we started to click a bit more, had more chemistry and cohesion."
with AAP
