Why did Lachie Neale move while she was in Perth

Six weeks later, the Lions have their man and Neale is stuck in pre-season training while she lives with her colleague and rookie Lincoln McCarthy while he and his new wife Julie look for their own place of purchase .

"Being in Perth is a bit of a snow bubble and coming here, I do not think I was noticed on the street or stopped to chat," he said. & # 39; & # 39; The little things like that are pretty cool.

"I was a farmer, so I do not really need that kind of spotlight.

"Probably when I was a little younger, I would have been happy to absorb some of that, but now I felt good to come and try to help this group and see how far we can go go."

Neale's education began in the small town of southern Australia, Naracoorte, 300 km southeast of Adelaide, where he played football for the local club Kybybolite.

In 2013, just in his 23rd game, Neale became the first footballer in the region to play in a grand AFL final since Andrew McKay of Carlton, who grew up for Lucindale.

But for Neale, it was never really considered returning home to South Australia.

Despite the interest shown by the Crows, a move to Adelaide did not symbolize anything important for Neale.

"To be honest, I do not really see Adelaide as at home, I probably see Perth more at home now," he said.

"I do not have a family in Adelaide, so if I moved there, it was half-past three by car. I would probably see my family as well as here in Brisbane or Melbourne. "

Although Neale does not see Adelaide as at home interesting in itself, what resonates even more is his admission that Perth is his homeland.

This makes it all the more surprising that a twice as best and fairest winner, and Fremantle's best player behind Nat Fyfe, leaves the club with a year to go.

And not only that, but by his own admission, Neale was given a residence contract by Fremantle almost identical to the one he had signed in Brisbane.

"I felt that I owed a lot to Freo, probably in my early years for trying my luck," said Neale.

"But I feel that I have given seven years of my best and that has probably cleared my conscience in a certain way.

"There is no reason why I left Freo. To be honest, it seemed like the right thing to do.

"In the end, we thought that a new start would be good."

The "we" was a crucial part of the decision. While Neale might have felt like leaving her homeland, her then fiancée and wife, Julie, were in reality.

Having created her own hair salon business from scratch, the decision to pack and move across the country was probably more difficult for Julie than for Lachie.

And that's not something Neale takes for granted.

"She sort of left everything behind. She is still here for the moment and she owns a business and she still has one. "

But for the newlyweds, it was the people of Brisbane who attracted them from the west.

Neale personally refers to Fagan, football chief David Noble and CEO Greg Swann, and returns to the top step with the coach.

"I think Fages' philosophy and his way of bringing people together are really impressive and the whole club has embraced it.

"I have the impression that the gaming group is in a hurry to go very fast in places. He wants to learn and grow as quickly as possible and reach the maximum of chances in a very short time, which was very attractive.

"Once I met Brisbane, I felt like I did not need to meet other people. I felt like it was the place to be. "

Unfortunately for Neale and the Lions, Captain Dayne Beams, recently missing, is one of the men who will not be there.

Neale and Fagan were watching together the last minutes of the trading period when Beams was sent back to Collingwood at his request.

However, the Lions lost no time leaving Beams, Neale having surrendered his No. 9 rider earlier this month.

And while it's hard to ignore the strength of Brisbane's midfield with Beams, Neale and now captain Dayne Zorko, the rookie rookie does not think the absence of Beams will make his job more difficult.

"I do not think so. It would have been nice to play with him. He's a great player for a long time. But I look at the other midfielders here and it's really exciting. "

The excitement is hard to ignore.

A quick look at young Lions midfielders from the list and names such as Jarrod Berry, Hugh McCluggage, Cam Rayner and Alex Witherden, to name a few.

Let's add that a 25-year-old star midfielder, Jarryd Lyons' inside grunt and a new key defenseman, Marcus Adams and the Brisbane Lions, who have won only 17 games in four seasons, could quickly change the game.

In Neale's words, the Lions seem "in a hurry to move".