Lachie Neale Fights One-Match Ban to Keep Grand Final Alive
Brisbane Lions player Lachie Neale must overturn a one-match ban at the tribunal to play in the Grand Final after being charged with striking Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan in Saturday night's preliminary final. If the suspension is upheld, he will miss the decider, according to ESPN.
Match Review Officer Michael Christian — the official who grades on-field incidents from video — assessed the strike as intentional conduct, medium impact and body contact, the AFL reported. The incident, described as an off-the-ball stomach punch on Ginnivan, occurred during the 2026 preliminary final.
Brisbane has confirmed it will challenge the one-match suspension. The hearing was listed with live coverage from 5pm AEST, the AFL reported.
The tribunal is the league's independent panel for contested bans. Brisbane must convince it to throw out the charge or lower the grading. A failed challenge leaves the one-week penalty in place.
Preliminary-final bans have sparked some of the game's most famous legal scrambles. In 1996, Sydney Swans full-back Andrew Dunkley was banned three days before the grand final for striking Essendon's James Hird in the preliminary final. Sydney took the case to the Supreme Court of Victoria and won an injunction allowing Dunkley to play on natural justice grounds, the ABC reported. He played in the grand final, which Sydney lost, and later served a three-week suspension.
In 1999, Carlton forward Aaron Hamill was banned for dropping a knee into the head of Essendon's Dean Wallis during Carlton's preliminary final win over Essendon. Carlton successfully appealed after calling a biomechanist, an expert in body movement, to give evidence. Hamill was cleared to play, but Carlton lost the 1999 grand final to North Melbourne.
In 2005, Sydney's Barry Hall was banned for a gut punch on St Kilda defender Matt Maguire in Sydney's preliminary final win over St Kilda. Sydney appealed and convinced the appeals board the offence was not off the ball, downgrading it from level two to level one. The board took four minutes to clear Hall to play in the grand final. He kicked two goals in Sydney's 2005 grand final win, the club's first flag since 1933. Hall later admitted he should have been banned.
In the 2023 qualifying final, Collingwood's Brayden Maynard was sent straight to the tribunal for a high bump on Melbourne's Angus Brayshaw. He faced a minimum three-match ban before being cleared with help from biomechanical expert testimony. Maynard was cleared to play in Collingwood's grand final win over Brisbane in 2023. Brayshaw never played again after suffering lingering acute concussion symptoms from the bump, the ABC reported.
What makes this stand out is the timing. A ban in September carries a heavier price. Neale has one hearing to keep his season alive.
