The football world is mourning the loss of Australian sporting icon Neale Daniher, with some of his closest friends sharing heartbreaking final memories of the man whose courage transformed the fight against motor neurone disease.

Daniher died on Monday aged 65, ending a brave and deeply public 13-year battle with MND that inspired millions of Australians and helped raise more than $100 million for research through the FightMND foundation and the annual Big Freeze campaign.

As tributes poured in from across the AFL community, those who knew him best spoke not only of his extraordinary determination, but of the humour, kindness and selflessness he carried until the very end.

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said he would forever treasure what became his final meeting with Daniher just weeks ago at the MCG.

Fagan, who credits Daniher with giving him his start in AFL football at Melbourne, became emotional as he reflected on a friendship that stretched across decades.

“He just made me feel like I belonged,” Fagan said. “For me personally coming in from the outside, a bit of a no-name, he just made me feel like I had an important role to play. He helped me enormously with my self-belief.”

The pair remained close long after their time together at Melbourne ended, regularly catching up through the years. But it was a chance encounter at a Melbourne game five or six weeks ago that now carries enormous weight.

“I look across and there was Neale in his wheelchair, so I was able to go along and have a little chat to him,” Fagan recalled. “I’m ever so grateful for that because I didn’t realise that would be the last opportunity.”

Even as his health deteriorated, Daniher’s passion for football remained untouched.

“There he was watching his beloved Dees and telling me we might have a bit of trouble with them in a week or two’s time – and he was completely correct about that,” Fagan smiled sadly.

Fagan said Daniher’s influence reached far beyond football. In his office at Brisbane headquarters sits a complete collection of Big Freeze beanies – a daily reminder of the perspective Daniher gave so many people.

“On days when I’m feeling a bit flat and down I just look at those beanies and say, ‘Get yourself going again, take his example, don’t feel sorry for yourself, get on with it’,” he said.

FightMND’s first chairman Bill Guest also shared emotional memories of visiting Daniher only days before his death.

“I saw him on Thursday afternoon, which was very much a goodbye, sadly,” Guest said. “I walked into where Neale sits in their living room, and he had wires up everywhere and it was clearly the last time I was going to see him.

“Still had his humour, still cracked some jokes.”

Guest said even knowing the end was near did little to soften the heartbreak.

“Even today when Jenny rang this morning you still shed a tear even though you know it’s going to happen,” he said. “But it doesn’t change who he was and how you feel about it.”

He described Daniher as “selfless, incredibly honest, unbelievably stubborn” – qualities that helped turn a small fundraising idea into one of Australia’s most powerful charity movements.

When FightMND was launched, Guest said they dared to dream of raising $100,000. Now, he believes next month’s Big Freeze alone could raise close to $20 million.

“It’s quite extraordinary,” he said quietly.

Former Essendon teammate and broadcaster Tim Watson revealed he had intended to send Daniher a text message on the morning he died, before receiving the devastating call that his friend had passed away. “He was a hero to me and I think he’s become a hero to so many people,” Watson said. “Because of the authenticity about the way that he operated… that he put something else ahead of himself and ahead of his health.”

Watson said he was grateful he had once told Daniher exactly what he meant to him – something many people never get the chance to do.

“Often we don’t take the time to tell people exactly what we think of people,” he said. “Moments can pass and it can be too late.”

It was Watson who first interviewed Daniher after his diagnosis in 2013, back when the former Melbourne coach was still unsure what his future might look like.

During a quiet walk around a park, Daniher floated the idea of trying to raise money and awareness for MND. “He was reluctant to step outside of his comfort zone and be a public figure for something like this,” Watson said. “But because it became the driving force in his life and something he could aim towards, he just embraced the whole thing.”

That mission would ultimately reshape the national conversation around MND and turn Daniher into one of the most admired figures in Australian sport.

As preparations continue for this year’s Big Freeze – with new beanies already rolling out before the King’s Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood – millions of Australians are expected to honour the man who refused to give up.

In the face of a cruel disease, Neale Daniher became much more than a football figure. He became a symbol of courage, humour and hope.

Image: 7Sport