For Lachie Neale, understanding his weakness as a footballer has been just as important as building his strengths. 

Ahead of his 100th AFL game against Richmond this Sunday at the MCG, Neale reflected on his development from the youngster who was just hoping to be selected in the 2011 National Draft.

Neale was taken by Fremantle with pick no.58 and has since emerged as one of the best players from the 2011 class.

“(Being) too slow for my size was probably the main issue,”

“Most guys that are my size in the AFL are pretty quick and I don’t have that lightning pace.”

“That was the main attribute I was missing and the word around was that I wasn’t the quickest bloke.

“Heading into draft day I wasn’t sure (I’d get drafted).

“My management was quietly confident that I’d get picked up late or in the rookie draft, but you never really know.

“It was a really nervous day but one of the most exciting days of my life as well.”

Pace hasn’t been too much of an issue for the 2016 Doig Medallist, who has used a strong football brain and slick hands to mitigate any weakness.

“I think my first 10 metres is reasonable but most blokes can mow me down after that,” Neale said.

“So I’ve just got to get rid of the ball after the first 10.

“I think my main attribute from even a younger age was my hands and my clean hands.

“If you fumble you lose that split second to make a decision, so not fumbling and being able to make quick decisions with my hands has probably held me in reasonable stead at AFL level.”

Amid speculation suggesting the native South Australian was eyeing a return home after the 2016 season, Neale signed on with Fremantle until the end of 2019.

Neale paid tribute to Fremantle and spoke of the decision to extend his contract.

“I’ve spoken about the chance that Freo gave me, I was a really late draft pick and came over here and settled in really well,” Neale said.

“The club’s been fantastic the whole way through.

“I’m really proud to play 100 games for this footy club and hopefully there’s a few more to come.”

The 23-year-old said he could see parallels with Nat Fyfe’s current contract situation, with the fellow midfielder becoming an restricted free-agent at the end of 2017.

“I wanted to stay at Freo, it was just a bit of a process to get that all done,” Neale said.

“I never had an inkling to leave.

“(The rumours) are a part of the business. There’s always going to be rumours and that was the case for me last year and Nat’s going through a bit of the same this year.

“I can understand Nat’s position and what he’s going through.

“To his credit he’s held himself in really high regard and he’s done really well.”