Brisbane Lions star Lachie Neale has revealed the suffering his wife Julie went through as his contract negotiations became a huge story in 2021.
Both the Brownlow Medallist and his wife were subjected to a torrent of abuse from online trolls after it was revealed that he was considering a move away from the Lions. Some reports declared that Neale “wanted out”, triggering a media circus that accelerated the star midfielder’s talks to the point where he made a decision in two days, rather than taking a more measured approach.
In his first TV interview since the days-long saga played out in September, Neale revealed to Nine News the impact the public outcry had on he and his wife as camera crews parked outside his door awaiting a decision.
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“Yeah, it probably didn’t help that there were no games that weekend so it seemed to drag on a bit. For me I sort of felt it was a non-story at the time, I hadn’t made any decisions,” Neale said.
“Clearly I’d had conversations about what my future looked like with family and people close to me, and obviously Jules.
“She hadn’t been able to get home really for two years, she went back for Christmas for a week when I was in South Australia so we missed Christmas together, that was 2020.
“I’ll never apologise for having those discussions and what the future might hold, probably when the story came out it maybe rushed my decision.”
While Neale was making a life-altering decision for he and his family, the bombardment of media coverage turned “pretty vile” for his wife Julie, who had become used to engaging with fans on social media and as Neale puts it, got “caught in the web” as personal abuse came flying in her direction.
Watch Mark Gottlieb’s interview with Lachie Neale in full in tonight’s edition of 9News Queensland!
“Jules was getting messages from randoms that were pretty vile, but from my end I’m pretty used to that stuff being in the industry for a while,” Neale said.
“She probably hasn’t had to deal with that before, it probably impacted her more than me. Seeing her upset was upsetting for me.
“The fact that nothing came of it (the decision to leave) was probably the most disappointing that people were trying to attack my character and hers.”
“I don’t read a lot of those things or comments but Jules probably did more than she should’ve and once you get caught up in that web you keep going back to the well,” Neale added.
“Someone might message her on Instagram about the dress she was wearing or her make-up so she was always reading those and replying to random people so when all that hit it was all a bit different, it probably took her by surprise and hit a bit harder.”
Having now had first hand experience with a horrific pile-on from anonymous trolls, Neale can understand why there is a push for tighter legislation for social media companies to allow law enforcement agencies to more easily identify people who cross the line.
“Yeah, I’m not sure how it really works but I think it would be great to have an identification system or something that you have to prove who you are on some of those things. There would be people far worse off than me and Jules that would’ve copped a lot worse,” Neale said.
“We’ve sort of had a taste of it, it’s not great but as I said I’ve sort of had it a little bit at times anyway.”
Having re-committed to the Lions at the end of a stressful round of contract talks, Neale is determined to move on and take full advantage of the premiership window his team is in.
With two years remaining on his current contract, Neale feels like the time is now, although he stresses that he’d like to continue on at the Lions into his thirties.
“Yeah, well contracted for two years and I think at the end of that contract I turn 30 so hopefully the Lions still want me. I’m getting on by then,” he said.
“[I’m] really comfortable with where it sits at the moment and like I said this year is super exciting. We’ve got a really young group and next year will be exciting again, I think we’re in the sweet spot at the moment and hopefully we can deliver.”
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