Two players who can benefit from AFL’s dangerous Neale precedent
Lachie Neale is free to play in this year’s grand final after a chaotic week following his gut punch to Hawthorn star Jack Ginnivan.
The AFL’s appeals board ultimately decided that the dual Brownlow Medallist was worthy of the league’s ‘exceptional and compelling circumstances’ grace, reserved for players who have had lengthy careers without previously being suspended.
Lachie Neale is free to play in this year’s grand final. Getty Images
In doing so, they have created an extraordinary and potentially dangerous precedent that the league must now uphold going forward.
Geelong legend Gary Ablett Jnr was the first to receive this allowance, after his one-match suspension for a striking charge was downgraded to a fine in 2019.
One of the game’s all-time great players, and similarly a dual Brownlow Medallist, Ablett had played close to 350 games without a suspension to that point.
Then, in 2026, Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury similarly had a one-game ban for a rough conduct charge downgraded to a fine for the same reasons.
Pendlebury, arguably the Magpies' greatest ever player, had played over 400 games without previously being suspended.
Enter Neale, who was banned by MRO Michael Christian for an intentional gut punch off the ball. An action the AFL has cracked down on hard in 2026, suspending nearly a dozen players for near-identical actions.
After spending half the night deliberating, the AFL’s tribunal upheld the ban. However, the appeals board felt they did not put enough weight on the ‘exceptional and compelling circumstances’ avenue and ultimately downgraded the suspension to a fine.
Third time is the charm. The AFL has now effectively said that if you are a 300-game player with no prior suspensions, you can intentionally strike an opponent to the gut off the ball with impunity once. You get one get of jail free card, effectively.
Applying it for Pendlebury was one thing. He was charged with careless conduct for a bump. Neale, however, was tagged with an intentional striking charge off the ball, hence the can of worms being opened.
It certainly opens the door for awkwardness should it happen again in 2027.
North Melbourne key forward Jack Darling has played 342 games without a suspension, while Hawthorn's Jack Gunston (302 games) is in the same boat.
The precedent has now clearly been set. Even an intentional strike off the ball is now fair game once if you meet the criteria for the exceptional and compelling circumstances.
Both Darling and Gunston are premiership players, former All-Australians and have played over 300 games without a suspension.
They can rest easy knowing they have one get out of jail free card in 2027.
