Lachie Neale ‘clips' young teammate Will Ashcroft with ‘extraordinary comments'
Agenda Setters host Caroline Wilson says Brisbane captain Lachie Neale's assessment of the professionalism of his young teammate Will Ashcroft were 'extraordinary'.
In just his third AFL season, Ashcroft has already announced himself as one of the premier midfielders of the competition, having won a Norm Smith Medal in just his 31st game last year.
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He is widely regarded as one of the most professional young players in the AFL, and a lot of his early success has been attributed to that by his coaches and those around him.
But Neale appeared to see it slightly differently, saying Ashcroft still had some way to go.
On Tuesday night, Wilson said: 'Could we have a quick listen to the Brownlow medallist, Lachie Neale, and some extraordinary comments — well, it pricked up my ears anyway.'
Asked on SEN if Ashcroft was the most professional player he'd ever seen, Neale fell short of giving praise that high.
'I've seen some pretty professional blokes, and he's still working on his body and what he needs to do to get to that top echelon,' Neale said.
'But he's still learning though and he's got a little way to go to be the most professional, but I think the way he handles himself is first-class.'
It was an answer that cause Wilson by surprise.
'I thought that was a bit of a clip and really fascinating,' she said.
'He's got a lot of work to do, clearly.'
Neale and Ashcroft were the Lions' two best players in their premiership victory against Sydney last year.
They have formed one of the competition's best midfield duos, and complete a superstar quartet with Hugh McCluggage and Josh Dunkley, who comprehensively beat Hawthorn at the weekend.
Brisbane (8-1-2) had a short break before hosting Essendon at the Gabba on Thursday night.
The Hawks (7-4) face another huge test on Friday night when they face premiership favourites Collingwood at the MCG.
Lions forward Charlie Cameron was instrumental in their win over the Hawks, overcoming his early-season form slump break the game open with three goals in three minutes late in the second quarter.
'When you're sort of going through a little stumble —missing goals and opportunities — just to finish your work, it's pretty satisfying,' Cameron said.
'I know how much those little things add up throughout the year ... we've got a big game coming up against Essendon so I can take a lot of confidence from this.'
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