In an astonishing first year as a Lion, Lachie Neale has been awarded the Brisbane Lions’ highest accolade; the Merrett-Murray Medal as Club Champion.

In front of more than 760 guests at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Neale received the award from its namesakes, Brisbane Bears legend Roger Merrett and Fitzroy Team of the Century Captain Kevin Murray.

The 26-year-old led the count the entire evening and finished with 386 votes. Captain Dayne Zorko finished second with 348 votes and received the Nigel Lappin Trophy for Runner Up from his Midfield Coach Dale Tapping. Hugh McCluggage finished third overall with 322 votes and received the Alastair Lynch Trophy from Backline Coach Murray Davis.

2019 has been an incredible year for Neale. In August he received his first All Australian blazer, finished equal third in last month’s Brownlow Medal count, and in September played in the Club’s first AFL Finals Series in a decade.

Neale played in all 24 matches for the Lions in 2019, including their two Finals appearances. He averaged 30.9 disposals and 3.8 tackles per game and finished first in the league for; total clearances, total centre clearances, total effective disposals, total stoppage clearances and total contested possessions.

Top Ten Leader Board of the Merrett-Murray Medal

Voting system:

Senior Coach Chris Fagan and the five Assistant Senior Coaches allocate votes based on the player’s overall performance, deliverance on all team criteria and execution of the team trademark.

1. There is no restriction on the number of players who can receive votes.
2. Each coach will grade and allocate a maximum of four votes to a player, the maximum votes a player can receive in a match is 24.