Lachie Neale has joined in on his final Mad Monday celebrations with the Brisbane Lions as AFL fans slam his comments following his team’s grand final win.
A relaxed-looking Lachie joined his teammates at Tetto Rooftop Bar in Everton Park, north-west Brisbane, to celebrate their 96-89 win over Fremantle on Saturday.
The outgoing Brisbane Lions player wore an oversized t-shirt and baggy pants while holding a ribboned trophy in one hand and a full plastic bag in the other.
Neale has come under fire over his post-match speech, where he confirmed he would be leaving the Lions and thanked his loved ones for their support, despite going through a wild year and marriage breakdown triggered by a cheating scandal.
‘I’ve got great people around me,’ Neale said.
‘I’ve had great support for the last 12 months from a lot of people that love me and who I love very much.’
His new girlfriend Emma Field was among the MCG crowd, while his former partner Jules had posted a photograph wearing a Fremantle scarf before the match.
Field wore a black jacket with ‘Neale 09’ across the back and later shared a photograph celebrating with the midfielder as he showed off his premiership medal.
Lachie Neale has joined in on his final Mad Monday celebrations with the Brisbane Lions as AFL fans slam his comments following his team’s grand final win
A relaxed-looking Lachie joined his teammates at Tetto Rooftop Bar in Everton Park, north-west Brisbane, to celebrate their 96-89 win over Fremantle on Saturday
Neale joined his teammates for what will be his final Mad Monday celebration with the Brisbane Lions
The scenes offered a stark contrast to the previous year, when Neale celebrated Brisbane’s triumph alongside Jules and their children.
On social media, some viewers seized on that change to criticise his post-match remarks.
‘I was so upset when he got interview time, I had to look away,’ one said.
‘Everyone went quiet when he got his medal,’ another claimed.
Others took aim at his reference to the people supporting him.
‘No, because who has he really got left? His therapist?’ one wrote.
The criticism also encompassed Neale’s dramatic escape from suspension, which had threatened to keep him out of the premiership decider.
He received a one-match ban for striking Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan in the stomach during the preliminary final.
Dayne Zorko was all smiles as the Lions celebrated premiership success for the third straight year
Lions players arrived at Tetto Rooftop Bar in Brisbane to celebrate their third consecutive premiership
Brisbane Lions players celebrated their grand final win in Brisbane on Monday
Brisbane Lions players make their way up the stairs to the Tetto Rooftop Bar on Monday
The tribunal upheld that penalty before a successful appeal cleared him to face his former club on the biggest day of the season.
For some critics, the combination of his reprieve and another premiership fuelled their frustration.
But other fans pushed back against the personal attacks, questioning why footballers were expected to serve as examples in every aspect of their lives.
‘We really need to remember they’re footy players,’ one wrote.
‘Making them role models or idols is where people are going wrong.’
Neale’s relationship breakdown became public in December, when Jules rejected suggestions the couple were working through their problems and said she had been ‘betrayed in the most unimaginable way’.
Her former friend Tess Crosley was subsequently linked to allegations of an affair with the footballer.
Field wore a black jacket with ‘Neale 09’ across the back and later shared a photograph celebrating with the midfielder as he showed off his premiership medal
Jules Neale posted a photograph wearing a Fremantle scarf before her former partner faced the Dockers
Emma Field celebrated with Neale after watching Brisbane defeat Fremantle at the MCG and arrived back in Queensland with her beau
It comes after Neale split with his wife Jules (pictured right) after admitting to infidelity
Speaking to Daily Mail in August, Crosley said she regretted decisions she had made and described the previous 12 months as ‘really, really chaotic and hard’.
‘First of all I have made some bad decisions I deeply regret but I believe that I am not a bad person,’ she said.
‘I also think it is important for people to understand that I was a nobody and I was in a high-profile scandal without all the high-profile help.’
The ongoing attention surrounding the saga was highlighted again last week when an Instagram account posted a Mad Monday costume photograph featuring three men dressed as Neale, Jules and Crosley.
The Neale impersonator wore Brisbane gear and stood between two men in blonde and brunette wigs.
‘Tess, Lachie and Jules on Mad Monday,’ the account captioned the image.
Crosley responded in the comments: ‘Jump scare warning next time pls.’
