LACHIE Neale will enter Brisbane's preliminary final under an injury cloud, although coach Chris Fagan insists the dual Brownlow medallist will be fit to tackle Geelong.
Neale was in obvious discomfort during the final minutes of the Lions' remarkable semi-final victory over Greater Western Sydney on Saturday night as his side somehow prevailed by five points after trailing by 44 late in the third quarter.
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Neale, well tagged by Toby Bedford at Engie Stadium, grabbed at his left foot during the chaotic finish.
The gun midfielder had his foot in a moonboot as Fagan and the team debriefed after one of the greatest wins in club history.
"He's had a bit of a sore foot for quite a few weeks now, so his training has been modified," Fagan said.
"If you come down and watch us train, you probably won't see him on a Tuesday. You'll see him on a Thursday and he'll look not very good.
"Then by the time we get to a game, he's good to go. He's tough."
Fagan added Neale would "be right" to play Saturday night's MCG showdown against Geelong.
"He's not in any danger of not playing next week," he said.
"He's fine, he's just like he always is after a game. It's been like that for quite some time now."
Neale finished with 19 possessions and seven clearances on Saturday night, including just one possession in the final quarter, as his influence was curbed by Bedford.
"I don't think I touched it in the last," Neale quipped to the Seven Network.
"Awesome battle. Toby's had a great year doing that role.
"I knew it was going to be a tough night.
"But I just wanted to do whatever I could to get the win."
Fagan praised Neale's contribution amid some close attention from Bedford, arguing Brisbane's midfield isn't reliant on their talismanic ball magnet.
"He lives with that just about every week now, and I thought he still made a good contribution," Fagan said.
"It wasn't a high-possession game for Lachie.
"But the good part about it is Will Ashcroft stepped up tonight.
"If you're going to tag Lachie, well we got Josh Dunkley and Hugh McCluggage and Will Ashcroft - they'll pop up.
"And that's what we need. We need an even spread of talent through the midfield. It's one of the positives about tonight, we didn't need Lachie to necessarily play a super game for us to win."
Meanwhile, Fagan had no regrets about leaving Jack Payne on Jesse Hogan throughout the contest.
Hogan kicked five goals on Payne, who passed a fitness test after being substituted out of the Lions' win over Carlton in week one of the finals because of a knee injury.
"He was fit enough to play," Fagan said.
"At the end, Jack got going. It wasn't like a game where he was down all night.
"In the last quarter he did some important things."
