Lachie Neale cleared to play grand final after appeal

The AFL Appeal Board has overturned a one-match suspension for Lachie Neale, replacing the ban with a $10,000 fine. This decision allows Neale to participate in the upcoming Saturday grand final.

The original sanction followed an incident during a preliminary final where Neale struck Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan. While the tribunal initially upheld the ban, the Appeal Board ruled that the tribunal had erred in law by weighing the intentional nature of the strike twice when assessing whether exceptional circumstances existed.

In determining the new penalty, the Board considered Neale’s long-standing disciplinary record, which includes over 300 games and thirteen seasons without a suspension.