Lachie Neale has ended speculation he was set to request a trade away from the Brisbane Lions to be closer to his heavily pregnant wife's family, confirming he will remain with the club next season.
The former Brownlow medallist, who requested a trade to the Queensland club from Fremantle in 2018, had reportedly wanted to return to the Dockers as his wife Jules wants to have their first child in her home state of Western Australia.
While Neale confirmed the pair had been considering a move back to WA, the 28-year-old announced he is staying with the club after a meeting with coach Chris Fagan, football manager Danny Daly and chief executive Greg Swann on Thursday morning.
'I am committed and staying at the footy club,' Neale said in a statement.
'I think one of the biggest things as well is I have unfinished business here, I want to be holding up a cup in the Lions guernsey. I am super excited to be here and I can't wait to play again next year.'
Lachie Neale has confirmed he will remain with the Brisbane Lions next season despite admitting he and wife Jules were considering a move back to Western Australia
Neale said the appeal of returning to WA was strong for him and his wife Jules, who is from the state, but said he was committed to the Lions long term
His father Robbie on Wednesday slammed the fan and media backlash to leaked reports he wanted to leave the club, saying Neale and wife Jules have needed 'family support'.
The news was leaked on Sunday, the day after the club's heartbreaking one-point loss to the Western Bulldogs in their semi-final on Saturday night, with fans immediately questioning the timing of the request while the pain of defeat was still so raw.
'It's been bordering on horrific,' Robbie Neale told a regional South Australian ABC station.
'They've got paparazzi following them around and camped outside the house. This is not how it should have been.'
Neale ended the speculation on Thursday morning, admitting the situation had 'gotten out of hand' and confirmed they had been considering moving back to WA.
'It's been a whirlwind few days and everything has gotten a bit out of hand but I came in and told Fages and Danny Daly and Swanny that's the case. So I am excited to be pushing on,' he said.
'Clearly as a lot of people know my wife is heavily pregnant. She is from WA, has a lot of family and support network in WA, but behind the scenes we had a couple of conversations about how that looked moving forward.
'With the Covid situation in the last couple of years it's been really hard for her to see her family and friends, and I have got a great support network in Perth as well.
Robbie Neale (pictured left), father of Brisbane Lions midfielder Lachie (right), slammed the fan and media backlash to leaked reports he wanted to leave the club
