'Hard to watch': Neale Daniher's daughter shares sad update

Bec Daniher, the daughter of AFL great Neale Daniher, has opened up about the ongoing effects of his motor-neurone disease diagnosis on Sunrise.

As the AFL world builds up to the 'Big Freeze at the 'G' fundraiser for Daniher's 'Fight MND' charity, Bec told hosts David Koch and Natalie Barr about her father's condition.

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Daniher was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2013, and has since become a vocal proponent for awareness and research into the condition.

“He’s going alright, you know he’s such a positive person, but ‘the beast’ is starting to take his voice and it’s really hard to watch that happen,” Bec said.

“It’s hard for him to talk to us,” she added.

The Daniher family have spearheaded several initiatives to raise money for research into the disease, with the 'Big Freeze' quickly becoming a fixture on the AFL calendar.

While coronavirus concerns disrupted the usual tradition of sending celebrities down a slide into a pool of ice water, Daniher remains as determined as ever to work towards a cure.

The Fight MND charity has already raised more than $48 million for the cause.

While the Queen's Birthday game between Melbourne and Collingwood which usually hosts the 'Big Freeze' event has been relocated to the SCG due to Melbourne's coronavirus lockdown, the icy event is still slated to take place at the MCG.

The likes of Billy Brownless, Craig Bellamy Shane Crawford, Ray Chamberlain, Sharni Norder, Sarah Jones, Abbey Holmes, Jeff Farmer and Daisy Pearce are all hitting the slide this year.

“(Neale's) doing everything he can behind the scenes to really raise as much awareness and funds for finding treatments and a cure for MND and that’s his purpose, that is his focus,” Bec said.

Renewed push for MND research spurred by Neale Daniher

Daniher has been a tireless campaigner for research into a cure for MND, and recently joked that not even losing his voice to the condition would stop him.

While admitting that he was 'dreading not being able to talk at all', in typical fashion Daniher rose above his own concerns.

Because I’m a funny guy! But, play on,” he said.

Daniher's beloved Demons have been on fire throughout the 2021 season so far, and will be hoping to continue that against the Magpies on Monday.

The Demons staged an epic second-half comeback to defeat Brisbane by 22 points in western Sydney on Friday night, claiming yet another big scalp.

Goodwin declared the second half was as "good as" his team have played; a fair effort given an 11-1 record that also includes impressive wins over Richmond, Western Bulldogs and Geelong.

Lions coach Chris Fagan became the latest good judge to heap praise on Melbourne, describing them as the best opposition that Brisbane have faced this season.

Goodwin noted the victory, coming after a flat start in which Brisbane eased to a 20-point halftime lead, would hold his charges in good stead throughout the rest of 2021.

"We want to be in a position where people do have high expectations of us because it creates pressure," Goodwin said.

"And to do what you want to do, you have to be able to perform under pressure.

"We understand there's a lot of excitement among our supporters and playing group ... we know we've got a lot of work to do.

"Our challenge is to keep improving, keep stepping up to these challenges and making sure we're ready to go when the time comes."

With AAP

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