LACHIE Neale almost willed it into existence.

After six seasons at Brisbane of being consistently followed by opposition taggers, the dual Brownlow medallist was about to face St Kilda in round seven, where he expected Marcus Windhager would ride shotgun with him again.

GET YOUR SEATS Buy your tickets for Lions v Bulldogs HERE

When asked at a press conference in the lead-up to the game about the prospect of facing someone he rated among the best run-with players in the AFL, Neale threw a curveball.

"It'll be interesting to see what they do with Windhager," he said.

"We've got some guys like Hughy (McCluggage) and Will (Ashcroft) who have been playing some good footy.

"If they choose to go anyone, they'll be more likely to go Hughy this week. But we'll see how that plays out."

Whether it was to plant a seed in the mind of his former coach Ross Lyon, or just something he said in hope, St Kilda did exactly what Neale predicted, with Windhager following McCluggage instead of the two-time Brownlow medallist.

With the four-time All-Australian squad member copping the heat, Neale ran riot, kicking three goals from 31 disposals.

McCluggage has since continued to have the best season of his stellar nine-year career, forcing opposition coaches to pick their poison – stop Neale or stop McCluggage?

Since the Lions' mid-season bye, Port Adelaide has put Miles Bergman to McCluggage at stoppages and Willem Drew to follow him around the ground, and then Carlton assigned Alex Cincotta to mind the Lions' vice-captain last Thursday night.

Free to roam, Neale has continued to feast, picking up a goal and two assists from 29 disposals against Port and another 31 against the Blues.

"That's the beauty of our midfield at the moment," Neale told Tom Mitchell this week on AFL.com.au's new player-led podcast, On The Inside.

"You can try and stop one of us, but we have plenty of weapons that are going to step up. We share the load in there really well now.

"'Clug' is having an All-Australian type year and should make that team. He's stepped up his game inside and out. His clearance work is unbelievable and ... his damage on the outside.

"It's nice to have a bit of a free run at it at times."
 
Despite getting more attention than ever, McCluggage has handled his new role brilliantly. In the three games he's been heavily marked, the 27-year-old has averaged 23 disposals and kicked a goal each time.

His rove and left-foot snap from a forward 50 stoppage against the Blues last Thursday night, with Cincotta unable to stay with him, was a thing of beauty.

"It's been a different challenge for me," McCluggage said ahead of his 200th game, this Friday night against the Western Bulldogs.

"I'm lucky I've got Lachie I can lean on a little bit. It's probably something you have to wear as a badge of honour, to get that attention.

"I can go forward, I can go on a wing, I can change my position up, which means I can trust that if I'm getting tagged out of the game a little bit, I can go forward and then someone like Will or Cam (Rayner) or Bails (Zac Bailey) or Bez (Jarrod Berry) can go into the midfield and do what needs to be done.

"I want to work my way through it individually, but I'm also thinking about the team and how I can help us continue to win that midfield battle even if I am a little quieter."

Neale or McCluggage? It's a decision that will keep opposition coaches up at night as the Lions prepare to launch another September campaign.