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Lions' AFL star Neale in Magpies' sights

3 minute read

Brisbane star Lachie Neale struggled under close attention from Geelong's Mark O'Connor and may face a similar AFL tagging challenge against Collingwood.

LACHIE NEALE.
LACHIE NEALE. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Brisbane midfielder Lachie Neale could find himself heavily tagged for a second straight week as AFL rivals Collingwood weigh up whether to send renowned stopper Levi Greenwood to the Brownlow medallist.

The Magpies' possible move comes after Geelong enjoyed success in using Mark O'Connor in a tagging role on Neale on Friday night.

Neale, who was struck by Gary Rohan behind play which earned the Cats forward a two-match ban, finished with just 16 disposals.

Now he faces the prospect of close attention from Greenwood in Thursday night's rearranged blockbuster, which has been moved to Marvel Stadium because of Brisbane's COVID-19 outbreak.

"We know Levi has been a really good stopper for us in the past, so that's a consideration for us," Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said on Monday.

"Neale's a quality player, he doesn't often put two bad ones together.

"It probably shows you how difficult it is as an elite player in the competition to continually back up.

"It's not as if coaches are sitting on their hands ignoring the quality of players in the opposition, so he's definitely someone that we'll consider, but they (Brisbane) happen to have a few, like most sides do.

"The job that O'Connor did was a strong performance but I think that there's also a team element to that as well in what Geelong were able to do to stifle Brisbane as a whole."

Buckley praised the AFL's "common sense" decision to move this week's match away from the Gabba and said it will not affect Collingwood's preparation.

He is confident Jordan De Goey and Brodie Grundy will be cleared to play after "a sniffle" forced the star duo to take COVID-19 tests.

The pair missed training on Monday and are isolating away from the club.

The Magpies have lost forward Jamie Elliott to a broken fibula, with veteran Chris Mayne in consideration for a recall after his bout of concussion in pre-season.

Buckley hinted inexperienced Nathan Murphy is also in the mix to play his first match since making his only two previous AFL appearances late in 2018.

Elliott has had a plate inserted into his leg and is aiming for a return in the second half of the season.

"Now there's a lot of work to be done to get back through rehab and he's unfortunately experienced at that," Buckley said.

"You'd love for him to get an even run at it and for the last 18 months he's been pretty good.

"Fingers crossed that he has a good recovery and is back for the second half of our year and gets a decent run at it then."

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