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Losing Lachie Neale "will not crush" the Lions
SEN • January 14th, 2026 11:25 am
Lachie Neale will not be at the Brisbane Lions in 2027 and fans should see that as a silver lining, according to Sam Edmund.
The 33-year-old, who stood down as Lions co-captain last week as he deals with issues in his personal life, is widely expected to seek a move to West Coast or a return to the Dockers in a bid to remain close to his family.
Lions coach Chris Fagan has already said he would not stand in the 32-year-old’s way should he seek a club switch later this year which Sam Edmund and Cam Mooney believe is a certainty.
“How a man who had everything could stuff it up so badly, he won’t be at Brisbane after this season,” Edmund said on SEN Breakfast. “I would be shocked.
“When Fagan says he will have his blessing to go … this will be his last season. He’s an unrestricted free agent, it won’t crush them, there’s a silver lining to it.”
The Lions go into the 2026 season with the pressure of a three-peat on their backs with their premiership defence gets under way in a mouth-watering clash with the Western Bulldogs in March.
With so much talent coming through their ranks, Mooney said the salary relief that losing Neale would bring will benefit the club long-term.
“I couldn’t agree more,” he said of Edmund’s prediction Neale will leave. “It’s his own fault, don’t feel sorry for him. This will be his last year at Brisbane and it’s not a bad thing for them.
“They have so much talent coming through, you get the wages off the books. You have a lot of young men to pay over the coming years.
“You won’t want to lose Lachie Neale but it won’t crush them. It’s a matter of when not if.
Should the Lions go all the way this season they would become the first team since the 2013-2015 Hawks to win three premierships in a row.
