FOX FOOTY Podcasts · Fox Sports Australia

AFL 360 - "He'll be brutally honest with himself", will Lachie Neale be able to make it to full fitness for the Grand Final? Plus the umpiring team for the big day joins the 360 panel.

·20 min·1 clip

Andrew Welsh insists Zach Merritt will still be at Essendon on day one of pre-season.

1. FOX FOOTY Podcasts' AFL 360 focuses on Lachie Neale's fitness test, Zach Merritt's Essendon situation, and the grand final umpiring panel. 2. Gerard Whateley and Gary Lyon host the discussion, while John Longmire, Adam Simpson, Simon Meredith, Jacob Mollison, Andrew Welsh, and Chris Fagan are central to the news and selection calls. 3. The episode asks whether Brisbane will risk Lachie Neale, whether Essendon can hold Zach Merritt, and how the grand final week is being managed. 4. Neale is described as needing to get through main training at Icon Park tomorrow after a calf injury that ruled him out for three weeks. 5. The panel repeatedly says the call could arrive on Thursday or Friday, with one line framing Neale as 'in until it's proven that he's not in.' 6. Chris Fagan's judgment is discussed alongside the idea that Neale will be 'brutally honest with himself' about what is best for the team. 7. The show compares Neale's situation with other soft-tissue cases, including Jeremy McGovern, Stephen May, Phil Davis, and Sam Rhee. 8. One argument raised is that the grand final's intensity creates risks that cannot be replicated at training. 9. Dane Zorko is heard saying Neale knows his body better than the rest of the squad and will face a different session to the main group. 10. The panel also notes that the Brisbane camp is planning for Neale to play unless training tells them otherwise. 11. Andrew Welsh tells the show that Zach Merritt is not disgruntled and that he will still be a Bomber on the first day of pre-season. 12. Gerard Whateley and Gary Lyon push back on that claim and point to Merritt meeting with another club as evidence that tensions remain. 13. The discussion notes that Merritt has two years left on his contract and that trade-period negotiation is difficult when a new president makes a public guarantee. 14. Simon Meredith says he has umpired 10 grand finals and still waits nervously for the Monday phone call every year. 15. Jacob Mollison says this will be his second grand final and that the 2021 Perth decider meant celebrating with family over FaceTime. 16. The umpires explain that they had three of the last four games together, which has given them stability entering Saturday. 17. The tone is conversational and debate-driven, with frequent back-and-forth on risk, selection, and public messaging. 18. The format mixes current footy news, on-the-record interviews, and long panel exchanges around grand final week. 19. Grand final watchers who want selection and umpiring detail. 20. Listeners wanting only match-day action and no administrative debate.

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