Lachie Neale’s gift to Jack Ginnivan after Lions won premiership
Jack Ginnivan has revealed the secret gift Lachie Neale sent him after the Lions won the 2026 Premiership.
Lachie Neale and Jack Ginnivan have revealed there are no hard feelings remaining after Neale’s controversial gut punch against the Hawthorn player in the 2026 Preliminary Final.
After winning his third consecutive premiership with the Brisbane Lions, Neale sent Ginnivan a secret thank you gift for helping clear his name in the lead-up to the historic Grand Final.
The Lions star midfielder was originally charged and found guilty of striking Hawthorn’s Ginnivan in the Preliminary Final, before Neale’s punishment was then downgraded due to a last-ditch appeal.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The 33-year-old was ultimately cleared to play against Fremantle in the Grand Final where the Lions claimed their third-straight victory.
Neale also celebrated the historic victory with his new girlfriend Emma Field, who was pictured embracing the AFL star on the MCG after the final siren.
Field, 29, proudly supported Neale from the stands in a customised “NEALE 9” jacket before sharing a loved-up photo of the pair during the post-match celebrations.
Following his triumph, Neale posted on Instagram with the three premiership cups and the caption, “What now...”.
Ginnivan, who had assisted with clearing Neale’s name from the striking charge, was one of the first big names to comment.
Neale quickly replied to Ginnivan’s cherry emoji, telling Ginnivan, “hope your tummy okay my guy.”
In a shocking revelation, Ginnivan has now revealed Neale sent him a gift for his assistance during the series of tribunals against him.
On the Footy and Friends podcast on Friday, Neale was asked by host Tom Sheridan, “What present have you got Ginni for getting you off (and playing in) the granny to make you a three-timer?”
While the question was intended to be tongue-in-cheek, Neale offered a surprising response by telling Sheridan he had thanked Ginnivan with a $45 bottle of Will Ashcroft’s limited edition wine.
“I got him a bottle of the Prince’s (Ashcroft’s) Mr September pinot noir,” Neale said, to the surprise of Sheridan.
“Did he actually?” Sheridan asked Ginnivan.
“Yeah, he got me a pinot noir … could have gone a bit higher (price) than that,” Ginnivan replied.
The limited release bottle was commemorating Brisbane’s Grand Final win.
The admission saw fans flood social media, with many feeling Neale could have been more generous given his new $1m-a-season over three years contract with Collingwood.
“That is 100% a backhanded gift like … hey, here’s a $45 bottle to say thanks for letting me play in the Grand Final that you didn’t make and we won,” Michael Smith said.
“$45 will Ashcroft wine. How thoughtful,” Harry Bent added.
Some even hypothesised that the bottle may have been a freebie in the first place, given Ashcroft and Neale are good mates.
