Former AFL player, coach and FightMND co founder Neale Daniher has died at the age of 65 following a long and courageous battle with motor neurone disease. Widely respected across the football world, Daniher became a symbol of resilience and determination after revealing his diagnosis in 2013.
Daniher made his name as a tough and intelligent player with the Essendon Football Club before later coaching Melbourne to a Grand Final appearance in 2000. But many believe his greatest impact came away from the game, where he turned his personal fight into a national movement for MND awareness and research.
Through the FightMND foundation and the annual Big Freeze campaign at the MCG, Daniher helped raise more than $100 million for research and support services, inspiring Australians with his positivity, humour and refusal to give in to what he famously called “The Beast”.
Tributes have poured in from across the AFL community, politics and the wider public, remembering Daniher not only for his football achievements, but for the hope and strength he gave to countless families facing MND.
