Despite a year's worth of water still to go under the bridge, it appears likely dual Brisbane premiership captain Lachie Neale will return home to Western Australia at the end of the 2026 season.
It comes following his messy and public marriage split, with wife Jules recently returning to Perth with their two young children.
A move back to Fremantle in 2027, despite the drama surrounding it, would put Neale in a position to potentially add the only missing piece to his legendary AFL career.
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Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has already stated they won't stand in the 32-year-old's way should he make that call, not that they could, given he will be an unrestricted free agent.
The Lions enter 2026 as the clear premiership favourites. They have won back-to-back flags, but they might now have the best squad on paper that they have had during this lengthy run of success.
They've added Essendon ruckman Sam Draper and West Coast key forward Oscar Allen, they'll get back key players from long term injuries including key defender Jack Payne, 2024 finals hero Keidean Coleman, key forward Eric Hipwood and the likes of Noah Answerth, Jarrod Berry, Lincoln McCarthy and Tom Doedee.
All of this to say, the Lions will be hard to beat in 2026 as they look to three-peat.
Best case scenario, Neale will have the chance to become a three-time premiership player, to go with being a two-time premiership captain, two-time Brownlow Medallist, four-time All-Australian and four-time club best and fairest. A sure-fire Hall of Fame resume.
If he then heads back to Fremantle, where he started his career, he will be doing so at the perfect moment for player and club.
The Dockers have a young, highly rated list and could be premiership contenders for years to come.
Before the 2025 season, North Melbourne champion and AFL analyst David King rated Freo's list as the best in the competition.
And the Dockers ended up hosting a final, before Gold Coast stunned them at Optus Stadium.
On paper, they don't want for anything. They have a strong defensive core, a trio of rising key forwards, two quality ruckmen and a trio of elite midfielders.
Adding a veteran like Neale who has been to the top of the mountain might be the final piece of the puzzle for them.
It would also be fitting, given Fremantle drafted him out of the SANFL with pick 58 in 2011.
Neale played 135 games for the Dockers and won their best and fairest award in 2016 and 2018, before joining the Lions in 2019.
Being a part of Fremantle's first premiership would certainly be a fairytale finish to his storied career, if it were to happen. If it doesn't, he is still a fascinating piece to put alongside Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and Hayden Young in that midfield.
Brisbane can certainly afford to let him go, given the rise of father-son midfielders Will and Levi Ashcroft, and the addition of academy draftee Daniel Annable, rated as one of the best midfield prospects in the 2025 draft.
Geelong premiership forward Cameron Mooney believes it will work out well for the Lions at the end of the year.
"It's his own fault, don't feel sorry for him. This will be his last year at Brisbane and it's not a bad thing for them," Mooney told SEN.
"They have so much talent coming through, you get the wages off the books. You have a lot of young men to pay over the coming years.
"You won't want to lose Lachie Neale but it won't crush them. It's a matter of when not if."
Neale will play his 300th game this season and despite a few injury setbacks, is still capable of being one of the competition's elite midfielders, as he showed in the 2025 grand final.
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