Emerging Geelong forward Shannon Neale has lauded his exposure to the AFL finals arena as the key Cat looks set to own a spot in the forward line following Tom Hawkins’ retirement.
Neale had a breakout second-half of the season last year while Hawkins was sidelined with injury, leading to the 22-year-old eventually holding his spot over the retiring Cats legend for the finals series.
The young key forward was solid in the finals, kicking two goals in Geelong’s blowout of Port Adelaide in the qualifying final, while he kicked 23 goals from his 15 appearances for the season.
Now with Hawkins out of the side through retirement, Neale admits the opportunity to forge continuity as a pairing with Jeremy Cameron is beckoning.
“There’s an opportunity there, I didn’t come into this pre-season expecting it be mine, I just had to work as hard as everyone else to get it, but there was an opportunity for me there to take it,” Neale said on Tuesday.
“I’m excited to hopefully run out there on Saturday against Freo.
“Me and ‘Hawk’ are different players, in terms of what we bring, strengths and weaknesses.
“But I’m definitely excited to make it my own and play in a forward line that is just as exciting, respectfully, without him.”
“I think I’m still working my way into earning the respect of my teammates, I’ve only played a handful of games, and still hopefully got a long way to go. I’m just looking to build the connection with my teammates, on the field as well as off the field. It’s something I’m continuing to work on.
“I still haven’t played a full season so I’m looking to bring continuity into this year. Have an impact, be a good teammate, and the ultimate goal is to win some games, which would be great.”
Neale said the experience of playing finals left an “astronomical” impact on him, providing him with invaluable knowledge that will hold him in good stead.
“You can’t really put a label on the experience you gain from AFL let alone finals footy. It’s hot, it’s loud and you’ve really got to be up for it, you can’t be switched off for any part of it,” Neale said,
“You’re going against the best. I was playing on Harris Andrews, Jack Payne, even before that when we played Port (Adelaide), Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and Aliir Aliir, really, really talented, really respectful defence, so it was good to get that exposure.
“Hopefully it’s going to hold me in good stead going forward, and we’ll play in a few more finals series which is definitely what we aspire to do.”
With Geelong’s attention turning to its opening game against Fremantle in Round 1, Neale is narrowing his focus on his likely direct opponents, hoping to implement the lessons from 2024’s finals series.
“(Alex Pearce) is at the front of my mind. I’m not too worried about what the noise is, the last I heard he was expecting to play, so that’s (what I’m expecting).
“Last time we played them in Perth, I got Brennan Cox so I assume I’ll probably get one of those two again. Narrowing my focus to those two guys will be what I’m doing this week.
“Alex Pearce is a really good endurance runner, he’s really strong, it’s no secret what he can do, he was very successful in the early parts of last year before he got injured unfortunately. He’s really good in the contest, reads the footy really well, so I’ve got my plan on how I can attack that.”
Neale’s 2025 season will begin with a series of challenges for the rising forward. Geelong’s clash with the Dockers takes place on Saturday, with games against St Kilda, Brisbane and Melbourne to follow – four of the top eight defences in 2024. With a weight of expectation to continue filling Hawkins’ former role, how Neale performs in the first month of the season will be a defining period of the 203cm Cat’s career.
