Superstar’s season feared over in ‘shattering’ Lions blow as ‘difficult’ flag reality emerges

There has been major injury added to the insult of Brisbane’s qualifying final loss as superstar Lachie Neale’s finals series is feared over after going down late in the game.

The Lions recalled the dual Brownlow medallist this week after he missed a month with a quad injury, but in just his first game back, he pulled up lame with a calf issue in the dying minutes on Friday night.

The cruel blow has raised big questions over Brisbane’s premiership candidacy with Neale sidelined, as the Lions will now turn their attention to hosting a semi-final next weekend against one of Fremantle or Gold Coast.

Watch every match of the 2025 Toyota AFL Finals Series before the Grand Final, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

“There is no positive news on the injury front,” Herald Sun and Fox Footy reporter Jon Ralph told the post-match coverage.

“Brisbane’s footy boss Danny Daly says ‘yeah, it’s a calf tweak’, which is what we know, but he doesn’t believe it’s a low-level tweak.

“The expectation from (Daly) is it’s probably a three-to-four-weeker, and that probably means that his season is done.

“(It was) a superhuman effort last year to play with that plantar fascia, which snapped in the grand final (against Sydney) … but you’d imagine that unless something extraordinary happens, his season is over.”

Ralph added via X shortly after: “Brisbane thinks Lachie Neale’s season is over with his calf issue. Shattering news.”

An understandably flat Brisbane coach Chris Fagan spoke on the superstar’s injury in his post-game press conference.

“Looks like he’s done (his) calf. So, that’s not a good thing,” Fagan said late Friday night.

“He’s a pretty tough sort of guy, he can usually play through those, but he couldn’t (tonight), so I’m not expecting great news there.

“I don’t know the severity, because you need to get a scan to find that out … I’d suspect it’s something significant.”

Asked if he thought the Lions could still win the premiership without Neale, Fagan said: “I haven’t even thought about that — I’m just worried about trying to win a game next week.

“I’ve probably stayed neutral on the answer to that question, mate. I don’t know.

“He’s a great player, so obviously, he helps, and we’ve got quite a few other guys that are injured at the moment who aren’t playing.

“So, whether that adds up to too many injuries and makes it difficult, I’m not sure, but we’ll continue to play with spirit, we’ll continue to go at the game, and we’ll get out there next week and try to deliver a better performance than we did tonight.”