Lachie Neale this week will complete arguably the best 150 games in Brisbane Football Club history.

He’ll be the 38^th 150-gamer among 355 Brisbane players all-time, and the fourth ‘import’ behind Roger Merrett, Alastair Lynch and Charlie Cameron. 

He’ll go into his life membership game – a blockbuster against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Friday night - averaging 28.4 possessions, 14.03 contested possessions, 14.29 uncontested possessions, 3.81 tackles, 7.18 clearances and 0.53 goal assists.

Despite being Brisbane player #318, having joined the club 32 years and 727 games into its existence, he ranks among the all-time leaders in a host of key aggregate statistics.

He’s 11^th for Brisbane possessions, 4^th for contested possessions, 10^th for uncontested possessions, 16^th for tackles, 2^nd for clearances, 13^th for goal assists, and 3^rd for Brownlow Medal votes.

But it’s Neale’s average statistics with Brisbane that support his claim to the best 150-game block in club history. They are truly mind-blowing.

Among 127 players who have played a minimum 50 Brisbane games his standing in club history through 149 games is off the charts good.

The four-time All-Australian and four-time Merrett/Murray Medallist is #1 for total possessions (28.46 per game), clearances (7.18 per game) and contested possessions (14.05 per game), 4^th for uncontested possessions (14.38 per game), 9^th for tackles (3.81 per game) and 20^th for goal assists (0.53 per game).

And in Brownlow Medal votes his numbers are even more mind-blowing. Winner of the game’s top individual award in 2020 and 2023, runner-up by one vote in 2022 and 12^th in 2024, he’s polled 61 times in 146 votes in 121 home-away games to the end of 2024, with 31 three-vote ratings. 

That equates to an astonishing average of 1.21 votes per home-and-away game. Or 27.8 votes for a 23-game home-and-away season.

Only five of the other 50-gamers have averaged better than 0.50 votes per game - Dayne Beams was 0.76vpg from 58 games to head Simon Black (0.61 from 302 games), Michael Voss (0.56 from 270 games) and Jarryd Lyons (0.56 from 93 games).

Neale, whose move to Brisbane in 2019 coincided with the club’s climb up the ladder in Chris Fagan’s third year as coach, is also one of 28 players in Brisbane history to have posted 100 wins for the club. He shares 27^th spot on the win list with Zac Bailey.

But Neale’s 69.4% win ratio from a 102-2-45 record is #1 in club history.

So, while it’s wrong to compare statistics from one era to the next and expect an outcome that is 100% accurate, and it’s a different game now from the golden era of the early 2000’s, the numbers do put the now 32-year-old Neale in elite company.

A 135-gamer at Fremantle from 2013-2018, he was the 12^th-youngest of 57 players in AFL history to play 100 games for two clubs when he topped triple figures for the Lions in Round 16 2023.

And he’s now one of just eight players to have played 135 games at two clubs, sharing that honour with ex-Brisbane captain Roger Merrett, ex-Fitzroy pair Bernie Quinlan and John Blakey, Lance Franklin, Shaun Burgoyne, Patrick Dangerfield and Barry Round.

He’s the No.1 possession-winner in the AFL since 2019. It’s Neale (4228) from Jack Macrae (4009), Zac Merrett (3973), Rory Laird (3913), Clayton Oliver (3846), Andrew Brayshaw (3661), Hugh McCluggage (3615), Marcus Bontempelli (3597), Jake Lloyd (3590) and Sam Walsh (3562).

He’s the No.1 vote-getter in the AFL since. It’s Neale (146) from Patrick Cripps (137), Bontempelli (123), Christian Petracca (109), Oliver (93), Merrett (91), Jack Steele (84), Sam Walsh (79), Andrew Brayshaw (77) and Ollie Wines (76).

And he’s No.3 for games played in the AFL since 2019. It’s teammate McCluggage (154) from Jack Crisp (151), Neale (149), Harry Himmelberg (149), Lloyd (146), Dayne Zorko (145), Ed Langdon (145), Bontempelli (142), Macrae (141), Brayshaw (141) and Connor Rozee (140).

He’s No.3 for 30-possession games – just. It’s Zach Merrett (67) from Jack Macrae (65), Neale (64), Clayton Oliver (61), Rory Laird (58), Adam Treloar (54), Sam Walsh (50), Andrew Brayshaw (46), Tom Green and Lachie Whitfield (45).

And he’s No.1 for 40-possession games. It’s Neale (8) from Nick Daicos (7), Macrae and Oliver (6) and Whitfield (5).

Neale’s 150^th Brisbane game on Friday night follows a double milestone for the Lions co-captain against Hawthorn in Round 11. He qualified for AFL life membership, when his 282 AFL premiership games, 16 official pre-season games and one State of Origin game totalled 300, and celebrated with 32 possessions on his 32^nd birthday.

He’ll be hoping to celebrate in similar fashion on Friday night as the second-placed Lions take on the third-placed Crows, who played a draw last time they met in Adelaide in Round 9 last year.

Adelaide, with a 6-1 record at home this year, have been the highest-scoring team in the League this year and boast the highest percentage.

KEY BRISBANE STATISTICS

Top 10 among Brisbane players (minimum 50 games) in key midfield statistics between 1987-2025 are:

AVERAGE DISPOSALS

1 – Lachie Neale – 28.46
2 – Dayne Beams – 28.02
3 – Tom Rockliff – 26.46
4 – Josh Dunkley – 24.84
5 – Adrian Fletcher – 23.58
6 – Simon Black – 23.54
7 – Jarryd Lyons – 22.47
8 – Hugh McCluggage – 22.13
9 – Jack Redden – 21.81
10 – Dayne Zorko – 21.79

AVERAGE CONTESTED POSSESSIONS

1 – Lachie Neale – 14.05
2 – Dayne Beams – 11.53
3 – Josh Dunkley – 11.45
4 – Simon Black – 10.94
5 – Tom Rockliff – 10.60
6 – Jarryd Lyons – 10.59
7 - Stefan Martin – 9.15
8 – Jack Redden – 9.12
9 – Hugh McCluggage – 8.28
10 – Oscar McInerney – 8.22

AVERAGE UNCONTESTED POSSESSIONS

1 – Dayne Beams – 16.50
2 – Tom Rockliff – 15.49
3 – Pearce Hanley – 14.48
4 – Lachie Neale – 14.28
5 – Hugh McCluggage – 14.18
6 – Josh Dunkley – 13.66
7 – Alex Witherden – 13.51
8 – Lewis Taylor – 13.11
9 – Tom Cutler – 12.95
10 – Dayne Zorko – 12.94

AVERAGE TACKLES

1 – Josh Dunkley - 6.60
2 – Jack Redden – 6.25
3 – Tom Rockliff – 6.86
4 - Jarryd Lyons  - 5.15
5 – Dayne Zorko – 5.12
6 - Michael Rischitelli – 4.34
7 – Mitch Robinson – 4.32
8 – Simon Black – 3.98
9 – Lachie Neale – 3.81
10 – Dayne Beams – 3.67

AVERAGE CLEARANCES

1 – Lachie Neale – 7.18
2 – Dayne Beams – 5.60
3 – Simon Black – 5.33
4 – Jarryd Lyons – 5.24
5 – Josh Dunkley – 4.89
6 – Tom Rockliff – 4.77
7 – Stefan Martin – 4.31
8 – Oscar McInerney – 3.97
9 – Jack Redden – 3.79
10 – Rhys Mathieson – 3.29

AVERAGE GOAL ASSISTS

1 – Jason Akermanis – 0.99
2 – Simon Black – 0.78
3 – Luke Power – 0.76
4 – Hugh McCluggage - 0.76
5 – Jonathan Brown – 0.72
6 – Jarryd Lyons – 0.69
7 – Dayne Zorko – 0.68
8 – Michael Voss – 0.66
9 – Anthony Corrie – 0.64
10 – Charlie Cameron – 0.63