Brisbane’s Lachie Neale to miss grand final as AFL’s one-game ban upheld

Dual Brownlow medallist guilty of intentional striking

Plea of ‘exceptional circumstances’ rejected

The prospect of Brisbane Lions’ midfielder Lachie Neale playing in Saturday’s AFL grand final has plummeted after his suspension for striking Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan in last week’s preliminary final was upheld by the AFL tribunal.

The two-time Brownlow medallist had never been suspended across 320 matches, but he failed to argue his exemplary record warranted this week’s ban be set aside due to the so-called exceptional and compelling circumstances afforded to Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury earlier this year.