Abbey Holmes and Lachie Neale have cleared the air over their innocuous post-game kiss that sparked some bizarre commentary.
The Brisbane Lions star and Channel 7 presenter embraced after the Lions’ win over the Bulldogs in Round 13 earlier this month.
While the kiss didn’t attract any attention at the time, it was since brought up for public debate with suggestions the act was “inappropriate”.
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Holmes, a former AFLW star with the Adelaide Crows, interviewed Neale after the Friday night game on June 7 before their chat ended with both of them leaning in for a peck on the cheek.
The pair are friends off the field and Holmes has previously written messages on posts Neale has shared on Instagram.
Despite this, the seemingly innocent exchange appeared to rub some commentators the wrong way.
Social commentator Kate Halfpenny wrote in a provocative column for The Age: “When things wrapped up, there was a micro-second of hesitation from the dual Brownlow medallist.
“Neale leaned into Holmes. She reacted by snaking her arm around his waist. He returned the favour. She leaned in too, slightly, and they kissed each other on the cheek.
“The interaction was fast and not ick, but it was weird enough for my husband and I to say, “wait, what?”
“This was rare, TV talent kissing or being kissed as a sign-off. You have to go back to Bec Judd swerving from Tony Jones’ attempted smooch in 2016 after her last news bulletin.”
Holmes has addressed the storm in a tea cup, describing the kiss as a “non story” and a simple interaction between friends.
“The fact that this article came out a week after the fact, after that interview happened, shows how much of a non-news story this is,” Holmes told LiSTNR’s Footy Talk.
“It’s really frustrating for me. Lachie is a good friend of mine, so that’s just something that you do — you greet your friends, whether that’s a hug or a kiss on the cheek.
“Kate Halfpenny wrote the article. But does she know my relationship with Lachie? Does she know that he’s a good friend of mine?
“If she had have done her due diligence ahead of writing that article, I think she might feel a little bit differently and might not have actually written it in the first place.
“I don’t want to spend too much time on it because to me it is not a story. And this isn’t the first time that a player who I’ve got a great relationship (with) has given me a hug or given me a kiss.”
Watch Abbey Holmes’ response in the video above
Holmes revealed Neale’s wife Jules had even messaged to check in on her.
“Jules Neale even sent me a message this morning saying, ‘I hope you’re OK, this is ridiculous’. I’m like, mate, I know Lachie’s a friend of mine.”
Holmes said she was frustrated her professionalism had been questioned given the work she had done to develop rapport with AFL players.
“The one thing that did upset me was the professionalism aspect of that article,” she said.
“I’ve worked so hard over such a long period of time now to build relationships, to build trust, to build rapport with these players and coaches and make them feel like they are in a really safe space when they’re with me. And that’s what probably upset me the most.
“I don’t want my friends to feel uncomfortable in how they going to greet me or say goodbye to me. That’s not fair. I just feel as though that article was taken out of proportion massively.”
Neale also poured cold water on the saga, telling Sunrise on Monday: “I probably don’t want to give much air time to it, to be honest. It is a little bit surprising.”
Host Matt Shirvington asked: “I know her personally as well. She’s just an easy person to relax around, right?”
Neale said: “Absolutely. I’m very good friends with Abbey.
“She’s a great person, she’s built great relationships in the industry and obviously outside of it as well.”
Holmes won the 2017 AFLW premiership with the Crows before moving into a commentary role with Channel 7.
This year she is part of the committee that selections the AFL’s All Australian team and votes on the Rising Star award.
The pair at the centre of the kiss chatter clearly had no issues — and it was Holmes that interviewed Neale at halftime of the Lions’ win over St Kilda on Friday night.
It was a hot topic of conversation on 3AW radio on Saturday with AFL icon Leigh Matthews and veteran footy journalist Caroline Wilson addressing the drama.
Matthews said: “You assume they must know each other very well. Because normally you only give a kiss on the cheek to someone you know quite well, otherwise you shake their hands.
“I would shake the hands of a woman I don’t know very well. The kiss on the cheek is normally for someone you know very well.
“I don’t know how well they know each other. I assume they know each other very well, otherwise it’s a highly unusual thing which is why we’re talking about it.
“It is a first. I’ve never seen it before. Have you ever seen it? That’s why we’re talking about it. It’s quite an unusual one.”
Veteran football journalist Caroline Wilson was the first person on the show to bring the subject up and said she “had no issue with it”.
“Why, why, why do you think Lachie Neale kissed Abbey Holmes last Friday night after the game, after the Bulldogs game,” she asked.
“Is it the same if he’d have shook hands with (Channel 7’s) Cameron Ling?
“I saw it and had no issue with it at the time. It was just a peck on the cheek. Did you have an issue with it? And why do you think he did it?”
She went on to say: “Clearly, Abbey has a good relationship with the players. She’s worked on it. She’s been a player herself.
“Lachie had just given an unbelievable performance. It was a good win. He was up and about. He obviously likes her. I didn’t think there was anything inappropriate about it.”
The fact that the moment is being discussed in public has been enough for some fans to be up in arms.
In a post viewed by more than 150,000 people, one footy fan wrote: “Are we that soft as a nation that we even find this offensive?
“Maybe they’re friends outside footy. Geez whoever wrote this would hate to be in Europe lol. It seemed a simple kiss on TV after the game, but it crossed a boundary.”