AFL great hails ‘selfless’ Lions superstar

He’s already a two-time Brownlow mediallist, but “selfless” 31-year-old Brisbane Lions talisman Lachie Neale is getting better with age.

That’s the verdict from four-time premiership player and Neale’s former Lions teammate Luke Hodge ahead of Brisbane’s sudden-death finals affair against the GWS Giants at Engie Stadium on Saturday night.

“There’s no doubt the Giants are going to have to set someone for him because if you let him run around and do what he wants, it’s going to be a bad sign for the Giants,” Hodge said on Thursday at the Brisbane leg of the AFL Premiership Cup tour.

“What he does on the footy field, it’s not fluke, it’s not luck, it’s because all the work that he does behind the scenes lets him perform like that on game day.”

Hodge has been in awe of Neale’s ability to take his game to new levels as he enters the latter stage of his career.

“He’s getting better, and (that’s) surprising, (given) the fact he’s (already) a dual Brownlow medallist,” the two-time Norm Smith medallist said.

“The football that he played between rounds 10 and 20 this year was as good as he’s played in his career.

“One thing he’s added to his game is the selfless mindset stuff. When you’re a young A -grade on-baller, you want to just go and get the footy as much as you possibly can.

“What Lachie has added is if he’s getting a tag, he’s happy to go make it a 2v1, he’s happy to go play a selfless role so his midfielders can get the ball as well.

“It does make him the almost all-round complete player. He was always good around the footy. That’s been his craft since he was a young guy.

“His spread from the stoppage he’s picked up on, his agility and his sidestep. Rather than getting the ball and handballing it, he’s able to use his legs, break from a contest and be able to hit a kick. That’s one part of the game that I’ve noticed he has improved a lot.

“I’ve noticed he’s pushed forward a lot more and he’s hit the scoreboard a lot more as well.

“One thing with Lachie – nothing surprises you.”

Being a Hawthorn legend, Hodge is cheering for two teams in this year’s finals series – the Hawks and the Lions.

“I’ll be happy that if both sides go as far as they possibly can,” he said.

“They (the Lions) have knocked on the door six years in a row. They had their heart broken last year (in the grand final), and the preliminary final the year before.

“When a team goes through that much pain, you want to see them have success.”

Hodge said Hawthorn – who meet Port Adelaide on Friday night in a do-or-die encounter at Adelaide Oval – had been the competition’s form team since May.

“They’re in good form, they’re young, they’re not afraid, they’re going to take the game on and that comes down to a lot about the coaching (of Sam Mitchell) as well,” he said.

“Sam just tells them to back themselves, If they make a mistake it doesn’t faze them, as long as they’re trying to do the right thing, which as a young player that’s all you want.”