NEALE Daniher has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.
The FightMND co-founder, who was first acknowledged with a Member of the Order of Australia in 2016, has been elevated to AO for his tireless work to find a cure for motor neurone disease.
The face of the fight against ‘The Beast’, Daniher and his team have raised close to $50 million in donations since 2014 – all going towards treatment research.
A warrior. An inspiration.
— Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) June 13, 2021
We're a better footy club because of you, @NealeDaniher. ? pic.twitter.com/wO7lfrOPbC
Daniher’s resilience and positive attitude, to ‘Play On’ in the face of adversity, sets him apart and makes him an incredibly deserving recipient of the honour.
The recognition comes ahead of Big Freeze 7 – FightMND’s biggest fundraising event of the year – which will take place at the MCG on Monday.
The seventh edition of the Queen’s Birthday event will see eleven ‘sliders’, including Melbourne AFLW captain Daisy Pearce, former Demon Jeff Farmer and AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, hit the ice for the important cause.
Melbourne’s dedicated match with Collingwood will follow at the SCG – the game was moved to accommodate a crowd in Sydney, due to Victoria’s COVID-19 restrictions – with a target of $2 million to be raised prior to half time.
A much-loved member of the football community, Daniher coached the Demons for 223 matches between 1998 to 2007, which followed a playing career at Essendon (82 games).
Reflective of his impact, he was also recognised in 2019 as Victorian of the Year.
