Breaking: Brisbane Lions star to challenge grand final ban

The Brisbane Lions will challenge a one-match ban handed to Lachie Neale, which would rule him out of the AFL grand final. Neale was charged with striking during the Lions' nine-point win over Hawthorn in the preliminary final at the MCG. The incident, involving Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan, occurred in the first quarter.

Neale will front the tribunal to challenge the suspension. If unsuccessful, he will miss Saturday's grand final against Fremantle at the MCG. According to ABC News, a ban would also mean Neale may have played his final match for the Lions.

Neale, a two-time premiership captain and Brownlow Medal winner, is set to make an off-season move to Collingwood as a free agent. He and Harris Andrews were co-captains when the Lions won the 2024 and 2025 premierships.

Brief written by urgent.news from ABC News AU, ABC News — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.