BRISBANE is expecting superstar Lachie Neale to be offered a one-match ban that would see him miss the 2026 Grand Final.

The Lions are expecting the ban to be confirmed later on Sunday for an off-the-ball strike in Saturday's thrilling preliminary final win.

The incident happened late in the first quarter, when Neale appeared to strike Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan.

The Lions are able to challenge the ban at the Tribunal this week but if they are unsuccessful, they will be without one of their greatest-ever players for the Grand Final against Fremantle on Saturday.

With Neale expected to join Collingwood in the off-season, the ban - if upheld - would also mean the dual Brownlow medallist and two-time premiership star has played his final game for the Lions.

The Match Review Officer's findings will be confirmed on Sunday evening.

Nine players have been suspended for off-the-ball strikes this season after the League vowed to crackdown on the action.

At the start of the season, the AFL said incidents where a player strikes another in the chest or stomach were more likely to be graded medium impact and result in a suspension

"It will be graded, usually, as medium, at a minimum," MRO Michael Christian told AFL Daily in February. "Usually means more than 50 per cent. That's a significant change ... that will result in a week suspension.

"A strike is defined as a blow delivered with force; there's nothing about a clenched fist in there. As long as the blow is delivered with force, it doesn't matter if it's a clenched fist or a palm of the hand."

Just last week, Adelaide's Max Michalanney was unsuccessful in his attempt to overturn a one-game ban for an off-the-ball strike on Brisbane's Charlie Cameron.

The Crow was charged with striking, with the MRO grading the incident intentional conduct, medium impact and body contact, resulting in a one-match ban that was upheld at the Tribunal.

A charge of low impact rather than medium impact would have resulted in the charge being downgraded to a fine.

More to come