Lachie Neale toured Magpies HQ one day, played for the Lions the next. His coach had no idea
Updated August 6, 2026 — 3:24pm,first published August 6, 2026 — 5:00amYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.In today’s AFL Briefing:Lions coach would have liked a heads-up about Neale’s Collingwood tourCarlton forward sweating on contract for next yearFagan would have liked a heads-up on Neale’s Collingwood visitAAPBrisbane coach Chris Fagan says he’s not losing any sleep over the Lions’ dual Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale touring a rival club’s headquarters.Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan says it would have been nice for Lachie Neale to tell him of his tour of a rival club’s headquarters.AdvertisementDual Brownlow medallist Neale visited Collingwood’s base last Friday, a day before Brisbane crashed to a 76-point loss to Carlton.Neale, widely expected to leave the Lions and join the Magpies at the end of this season, didn’t tell Fagan of his plans.“He hadn’t spoken to me about it, so I wasn’t aware,” Fagan said.“And he doesn’t have to, either; he doesn’t have to do that.Advertisement“It would be nice if he would, so you don’t get caught by surprise, but that’s the way it is.”The 33-year-old Neale, an unrestricted free agent, has been offered a three-year contract by Collingwood.Fagan said he wasn’t overly worried by Neale’s visit to the Magpie nest.“As an industry, we probably need to get used to the idea that that sort of stuff is going to happen more and more, that seems to be the trend, doesn’t it,” he said.Advertisement“There’s more and more player movement, there’s more and more free agents and those free agents can exercise their rights to check out potentially their new workplace.“To be honest, I probably would have preferred that ... it didn’t become public knowledge.“Or that it could have been done post our game last week so that all the speculation of whether that was the right or wrong thing to do wouldn’t happen, but it has and I’ve not lost any sleep over it, to be honest.”Collingwood assistant coach Hayden Skipworth said the Neale visit was the domain of his club’s list manager Justin Leppitsch.AdvertisementAsked on Thursday how Neale would look in Magpies colours, Skipworth replied: “There’s plenty of players that would look good in Collingwood [colours].“I won’t comment on other people from other clubs. But we’re always looking to get better as a club through our draft and free agent picks.”Fagan said his prime concern this week was plotting a rebound from their heavy defeat to the Blues. The Lions slipped to fifth spot after the loss, ahead of hosting third-placed Hawthorn in a Friday night blockbuster.“I have a lot of faith in this group,” Fagan said.Advertisement“If you look at their record over the last eight years, you would have a lot of faith in them too.“The odd time over those years we have had a poor loss, we have always been able to respond.“I’m backing the group in to do that this week.”McGovern wants to play on, but still waiting for a contractAdvertisementCarlton veteran Mitch McGovern wants to play on next year but is still waiting for a contract offer from the Blues.Forced to wait until after last year’s trade period for a new deal, McGovern again finds himself heading into the final month of the home-and-away season with an uncertain playing future.McGovern has been one of the surprise packets this year for the Blues, revelling in a return to the forward line to be the club’s leading goalkicker with 31, one ahead of Brodie Kemp.Initially recruited by the Blues to be a third marking forward to support Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow, McGovern rarely played in the same attack as the Coleman medallists due in part to the latter’s knee issues in 2020-21 and his own checkered run with injury.AdvertisementHis switch back into attack came after Curnow’s departure last year and the emergence of young gun Harry Dean in defence.“I definitely want to play on,” McGovern told this masthead. “I’d like to hopefully play for another two or three years, but yes, I guess I’ve got to wait it out, see what happens, and see what comes. So fingers crossed something does.”McGovern did not receive a contract extension last year until October.After playing just 12 games from 2021-22, McGovern has improved his durability to the point where he is on track to play every game this season.AdvertisementAdvertisementVeteran Nic Newman, who will miss at least six more weeks with a hamstring injury, has indicated his desire to play on after a strong return, but Zac Williams and Adam Saad are out of favour under Fraser after being regulars when available under Voss.Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.You have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.More:AFL 2026Carlton BluesTrading and draftingAndrew Wu writes on cricket and AFL for The Age.Connect via X or email.
