They say that patience is a virtue and there may be nothing that epitomises that notion more than Shannon Neale's journey.
Drafted by Geelong in 2020, Neale was added to a Cats list that was spearheaded by Tom Hawkins, landing at the club at the same time as Jeremy Cameron and also joining Gary Rohan in the Hoops.
When it came to key forwards, he was certainly a fair way down the pecking order in his inaugural year and there would only be limited opportunities at the elite level as his AFL career commenced.
Neale earned his debut in Round 11 of the 2022 season against Adelaide, playing two AFL games that season as the Cats went on to reach the pinnacle of Australian Rules Football on the last Saturday in September.
He would play a further three games at the top level in 2023, but finished his first three seasons at Geelong with just five appearances to his name.
But instead of getting despondent about the situation, Neale utilised every opportunity to learn from some of the game's best players, plying his trade to ensure he was ready when a more consistent chance beckoned.
After kicking 68 goals across 34 VFL games, that opportunity came knocking in 2024.
With some more experience under his belt earlier in the campaign, Neale entered the side in Round 16 against Essendon on the back of an unfortunate injury to Tom Hawkins, what would ultimately be the final game of his AFL career as the Cats fell to Carlton by 63 points.
It would be an opening that the big Cat would grasp with both hands, only missing one game from Round 16 of the 2024 season up until last week's clash with Port Adelaide, remarkable consistency for a key forward who is tasked with crashing packs each and every week.
Over that 42 game span, Neale was only held goalless on seven occasions and kicked 73 goals in total, which included 11 games where he kicked three goals or more.
His aerial prowess was also on full display, leading Geelong for contested marks over that stretch while also able to bring the ball to ground, bringing the Cats' small forward brigade into the game.
At the start of 2025, Neale was rewarded for his strong form and signed a three-year contract deal, keeping him at the Cattery through to the end of the 2028 season.
After another brilliant opening to the 2026 campaign which included 15 goals from seven games, Neale signed another two-year extension which will see him remain in the blue and white Hoops until at least the end of 2030.
