Kevin Neale

Kevin Neale (18 July 1945 – 16 September 2023) was an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Later in his career, he was a player-coach or captain-coach for a number of teams in the Australian Capital Territory, before eventually becoming a full-time coach.

St Kilda Kevin Neale was born on 18 July 1945. He was recruited from Hampden Football League (HFL) club South Warrnambool, where he played in seven grand finals in a row. He was nicknamed "Cowboy". The origin of the nickname is uncertain; it was possibly for his bow-legs and his rolling gait, but coach Alan Jeans once said he played like a cowboy.

Recruited by St Kilda as a nineteen-year-old, , ruckman, Neale played his first match for St Kilda against North Melbourne on 22 May 1965 (round 6), as a back-pocket/ruckman. He was selected as the back-pocket ruckman in St Kilda's "Team of the Century" in May 2001. He kicked five goals in St Kilda's 1966 Grand Final win over Collingwood, Neale was known for a brutal bump on Peter Hudson in the 1971 VFL grand final. A concussed Hudson kicked into the man on the mark, losing his chance to beat Bob Pratt's record of 150 goals in a single season. The Saints went on to lose the match.

Neale played for Victoria in the interstate match against Tasmania in Hobart, on Saturday, 16 June 1967. He was selected at full-forward, and kicked four goals in the match (he was moved from full-forward in the second half because Victoria's centre half-forward Peter McKenna had not kicked a goal in the first half of the match).

At the end of the 1976 season, it was thought that Neale would retire from playing with St Kilda; however, the team prevailed upon him to play yet another season, and he played in 20 of St Kilda's 22 matches that season, playing his last match as the back-pocket ruckman, in a losing St Kilda side, 17.10 (112), against Richmond 25.21 (171) at the MCG on 27 August 1977 (round 22). In his VFL career at St Kilda, he had played in 256 games, and scored 301 goals.

In 1978, he moved to Canberra, and was appointed the captain-coach of the Ainslie Football Club. In that year, he was also the captain-coach of a combined Australian Capital Territory (ACT) team in the Escort Cup competition. He was still very effective at full-forward, setting a goal-kicking record in 1980. With Neale as its captain-coach, Ainslie won the premiership in 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1983. He scored three goals.

Coached by Bill Stephen, the Victorian team included club captains and Brownlow medallists: Captain Francis Bourke of Richmond, Trevor Barker of St Kilda, Malcolm Blight of North Melbourne, Terry Bright of Geelong, Jim Buckley of Carlton, Robert DiPierdomenico of Hawthorn, Jim Edmond of Footscray, Robert Elliott of Melbourne, Neville Fields of South Melbourne, Laurie Fowler of Richmond, Steven Icke of North Melbourne, Rene Kink of Collingwood, Mark Lee of Richmond, Mark Maclure of Carlton, Alex Marcou of Carlton, Merv Neagle of Essendon, Jeff Sarau of St Kilda, Laurie Serafini of Fitzroy, and Michael Turner of Geelong.

For a number of reasons, Ainslie had experienced a dismal 1981 season; but, under the coaching of Neale and, particularly, due to his on-field leadership and strength at full-forward, Ainslie won the 1982 premiership. At the end of 1982, he was interviewed by St Kilda, with a view to him replacing Alex Jesaulenko. Neale demanded $50,000 as his salary (St Kilda eventually appointed the ex-Richmond coach Tony Jewell).

In 1983, he began the 1983 season as the captain-coach of the Ainslie Football Club, and continued to play a key role.

Cleared by Ainslie, Neale moved to coach the Central District Football Club in the SANFL. He was non-playing coach from 1984 to 1987. He coached Ainslie again in 1998.

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