After the Olympics, Neall's partnership with Talbot was broken when he took up a coaching position in Canada. She started training with his assistant Ruth Everuss, but the pair did not produce the desired results. Neall took an extended break from swimming to complete her Higher School Certificate and won a scholarship to Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education to train as a primary school teacher. The interrupted swimming regime saw a decline in her times at the 1973 Australian Championships in Adelaide, as she could defend neither of her titles. She placed second in the 400-metre individual medley and third in the 200-metre butterfly. The selectors persisted with her and chose her for the International Coca-Cola Meet in London and the World Championship in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. After the European trip, Neall went to Thunder Bay in Canada to train with Talbot for three months. She competed in the Canadian season, setting three Canadian all-comers records.