AFL Chief Executive Andrew Dillon today said the game was heartbroken upon the news of the passing of Neale Daniher, a great of Australian Football who had also given so much to the people of Australia across the last decade in his fundraising efforts to find a cure for MND.
Neale, who turned 65 earlier this year, passed away in Melbourne today and will be remembered for the selfless way he had refused to bow to illness and the way he had led the charge to find a cure for MND for those who would come after him.
Mr Dillon said Neale's legacy would extend far beyond his time in football as a player and coach, and that Australian football was fortunate to have had a person of Neale's quality and values come into the game.
"The passing of Neale is a devastating loss not only for everyone fortunate enough to know him, but for everyone in our community for the selflessness that he represented.
"Neale was a brilliant player in his time on the field with Essendon and when injuries cut short his playing career, he was a passionate and outstanding coach that guided Melbourne to six finals series, including the 2000 Grand Final.
"But Neale's contribution to wider Australian life, despite the challenge of his own MND diagnosis, in raising awareness of the disease, championing fundraising efforts and the search for a cure that he knew would likely not help him, but may help many thousands of other Australians in the future, is something he will be forever remembered for.
"FightMND, which Neale co-founded and which I have had the privilege of serving on the Board of with Neale, has raised millions of dollars and Neale continued to work and push himself to motivate others to do more, even when his own illness affected his mobility and speech and he had more than earned the right to rest.
"As a past Australian of the Year in 2025, Neale's values for how he lived his life, for the countless occasions he stepped forward to speak for those who did not have a voice, define how we will remember Neale as one of the very greatest that we had the privilege to call a 'football person'.
"We send our heartfelt condolences and love to Neale's wife Jan, his children Bec, Ben, Lauren and Luke and their partners and families, and also to the wider Daniher family, for a life of leadership and service that has given so much to football," Mr Dillon said.
Since Neale was first diagnosed with MND, the fundraising efforts of FightMND have seen more than $100m contributed to research projects, with Neale being recognised by the Australian Government for his service to the community with an AM in 2016, an AO in 2021 and then named as Australian of the Year in 2025.
In football, as one of four brothers to play league football for Essendon, Neale began his VFL career in 1979 and played 82 matches in all, including winning the Bombers' Best and Fairest in 1981 and being named as captain for the 1982 season.
Multiple knee injuries shortened his time at the top as a player but he twice played with brothers Terry, Anthony and Chris in the one game, firstly for NSW against Victoria in 1990 in a State match and then later that same year for Essendon against St Kilda at Moorabbin, representing the first and only time four brothers had played together in a VFL/AFL game.
After playing, Neale found his calling in coaching, initially serving as a senior assistant at both Essendon and Fremantle.
As senior coach at Melbourne, he was a fiery and outstanding orator, earning the nickname 'The Reverend', and coached the Demons between 1998-2007 in 223 matches in all – the third-most in club history behind Hall of Fame Legend Norm Smith and Frank 'Checker' Hughes. After his coaching career, Neale also served as General Manager of Football at West Coast.
Neale is a Life Member of the AFL and is a past recipient of the John Kennedy Award for Distinguished Service to the game.