Brisbane Lions star Lachie Neale set to play in grand final against Geelong Cats

Brisbane will roll the dice with a two-time Brownlow Medallist with the Lions reportedly confirming Lachie Neale will play this Saturday’s AFL decider, just three weeks on from his calf injury.

Neale’s season was seemingly over after his club put a line through him after injuring his calf in their qualifying final loss to Geelong on September 5.

But as the Lions kept their season alive, Neale’s odds of making an improbable comeback were increasing week by week, with Caroline Wilson confirming on Seven’s The Agenda Setters that Neale will play.

Fellow panellist and Seven analyst Kane Cornes called it the biggest grand final selection risk he thinks he’s ever seen.

“They ruled him out for the year, and I just gave him no chance. I’m not sure what has changed,” he said.

Former teammate Luke Hodge said the Lions had to pick Neale due to the injuries in their squad, but expects he will start on the bench.

“Do you go with one of these younger guys or with the two-time Brownlow Medallist, knowing the occasion won’t overawe him?,” he said.

“It’s a massive risk, with one game in 56 days, it’s playing 120 minutes of two-way defence and offensive football, so I assume he’ll start on the bench.

“If I were Geelong, I would attack him and push him onto that right calf as often as I can.”

The Lions co-captain trained strongly on Tuesday, running laps before joining the main session and getting through the full hour-long session unimpeded.

Assuming Neale doesn’t a late setback on Thursday’s main training session in Melbourne, it would mark a remarkable comeback on what was initially assessed as a 4-6 week injury.

Coach Chris Fagan said he trusted Neale to make the right call, not only for himself but also for the group.

“He trained today and did everything at a much higher speed than everyone else, given they were in recovery,” he told AFL360.

“I’ve spoken to Lachie and said ‘mate, you’ve got to train flat-out, there’s no holding back’ but if the medical staff give him the tick-off I’m going to back him in.

“We need to get through training on Thursday and he got through a really hard session on the weekend.

“I think he knows what’s at stake and he’s not taking this decision lightly.”

It comes as fellow midfielder Jarrod Berry is also racing to be fit after dislocating his shoulder in their preliminary final win over Collingwood.

Oscar McInerney, who missed last year’s grand final with a dislocated shoulder, said he was confident the club would make the right calls.

“They (Neale and Berry) will keep trying to do what they’ve got to do, and we’ll see how they go,” the towering ruckman said.

“‘Bez’ (Berry) is an incredible person, and he’s always got a smile on his face, and he’ll keep ticking all the boxes and working on it.

“(Lachie) is our captain … those guys will look after themselves and do a really good job to give them the best opportunity (of playing)

“As players, our job is not to look too far ahead and just do what we’ve got to do day to day to get ready.”