Brisbane Lions co-captain Lachie Neale will become a football immortal if he wins flag after major calf injury

Lachie Neale is two and a half hours away from football immortality.

The Brisbane co-captain is already a first ballot Hall of Famer in waiting. That’s a lock.

But if Neale is holding the premiership cup aloft on Saturday night after recovering from what everyone thought was a season ending calf injury, his football legacy will soar to crazy levels.

This is a bloke who looked like he’d been shot in the leg during the qualifying final. He was done. We all saw it. We all knew it.

The club knew it too. Brisbane announced Neale’s season ending injury at 5:13pm EST on September 6.

That could be the exact time the grand final ends on Saturday. The final siren rang at 5:12pm last year which is kind of spooky.

But back to Neale’s place in history.

Don’t play injured players in finals is one of footy’s most important rules. The game is littered with stories of regret. James Hird in 2001. Lachie Whitfield and Phil Davis in 2019. Sam Reid in 2022. Logan McDonald last year.

Clubs rolled the dice and the players simply couldn’t perform. Even worse – their teams lost.

Those stories are why Geelong refused to risk Max Holmes in 2022 and why Sydney ruled out Callum Mills last year.

But when clubs take risks and they pay off, reputations grow. Jeremy McGovern was in hospital just days before the 2018 grand final but started the match winning play. Luke Hodge played in 2008 with broken ribs and still won the Norm Smith Medal. Nigel Lappin also had broken ribs and won a flag in 2003. Anthony Stevens won the flag in 1999 with a fractured ankle and torn ligaments.

Everyone remembers the 1989 grand final when Dermott Brereton and Robert DiPierdomenico played through excruciating injuries they suffered on the day.

Those moments become iconic stories that get re-told every year. Fans love hearing about dominant games, extraordinary moments and players who fight through pain.

Neale tore his plantar fascia during last year’s grand final but still finished runner-up in the Norm Smith Medal. Thirty-five possessions, nine clearances – what a game. Oh, and he was in a moon boot the next day.

If he produces a repeat performance, nearly every time someone enters grand final week under a fitness cloud, we’ll all refer to Neale as to what is possible. He’ll be the ultimate reference in history.

Consider Neale’s current legacy as a dual Brownlow Medallist. He’s one of only 17 men to have achieved that. If we add dual premiership captain who led the team to back-to-back flags despite a major injury, his story will still be spoken of generations into the future.

We shouldn’t be shocked that Neale has found a way to heal so quickly. He’s the ultimate professional who has spent his life proving people wrong.

Too short and slow for AFL? That’s laughable now. Thank goodness Fremantle drafted him at pick 58.

Neale lives for the big occasion. He won three Glendinning-Allan Medals. The first was in his 29th game and it was at a time when derbies were highly competitive.

Neale had a game-high 32 disposals, a game-high 13 contested possessions and, if we exclude the players who were subbed on and off, he spent the least amount of time on the field.

Then he won the medal again in 2015 and 2018. Fast forward to life in Brisbane and he’s won two Marcus Ashcroft Medals in Q-Clashes.

Neale will be under some type of duress throughout the grand final. Even if his calf is fine, he’ll have lingering doubts in the back of his mind. That alone will pose challenges.

But you can guarantee that whenever there is a stoppage or when the ball gets into congestion, Neale will be in the thick of the action doing his best to win the hard ball. That’s what he always does.

There is a reason why coach Chris Fagan is prepared to risk Neale when he wouldn’t pick Oscar McInerney last year or Jarrod Berry this time. McInerney and Berry are tough, brave and talented. But Neale has an aura which might be about to grow to even bigger heights.

He’s two and a half hours from football immortality.