Demons great and former captain Garry Lyon remembered the late Neale Daniher on Monday night, telling a memorable story of his early days as Melbourne coach.
Daniher, who passed on Monday after a courageous 13-year battle with motor neurone disease, was Lyon’s last coach during his playing days and led the Dees for 10 seasons after an 82-game playing career with Essendon.
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The 2025 Australian of the Year, who vowed to dedicate his life to campaigning and raising awareness of MND, became the co-founder and patron of FightMND, providing a beacon of hope for those living with the condition.
“It’s incredible how much his story has resonated over the past 13 years, and he’s gone from this football player and coach to the darling of the country; Australian of the Year,” Lyon said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“It’s been cathartic. We have a Melbourne Footy Club Whatsapp group (and) I’ve just sat there and watched and read – players have shared their thoughts and memories that have come through, it’s a beautiful thing.”
Lyon said he learned the news through his son, Ben, who lives with Daniher’s son, Ben.
“He rang me just after lunch. I knew something wasn’t quite right, and I didn’t know what it was, and then he went on to say that Ben had spoken to him and that Neale had passed today,” Lyon said.
“So, that just straight away puts you in the mindset of fathers and sons and relationships, and how precious time is, and how precious life is.
“So, that hit pretty hard.”
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Most significant in the eyes of Lyon was Daniher’s courage to become a “public figure” leading the charge against MND while suffering.
“What would you do if you were faced with the same challenge? … How would you go? I know what I’d do – I’d disappear, selfishly,” he said.
“And all he’s done is fronted up and become a much more public figure than he probably ever thought he would be, at a time when he deserved to just step away from the spotlight of the world.
“His legacy is profound, but that’s the thing that gets me.”
AFL Legend Neale Daniher dies aged 65 | 05:40
Lyon re-told a famous Daniher anecdote from shortly after he was hired as Melbourne coach in 1997.
The Demons had finished last on the ladder
“So, 1997, Melbourne comes last … and his first meeting would have been around September (1997), and he got us in a room and just said: ‘You look like you’ve all had your dogs run over! We’re clearly the worst team in the competition!’” Lyon began.
“He had this stupid laugh on his face. Everyone knows that (we were the worst team). (He said) ‘We’re going to get to work, we’re going to work harder than anyone has, so October 16th is when we start training’.
“And we said: ‘We start the day after the Melbourne Cup, that’s when we start preseason’. And he said ‘nup’.
“He famously said to me – I’d played six games and five games, I’d had a back surgery – and he said: ‘Listen, if you’re going to break down, let’s break you down properly, son’.
“So I did the full preseason, and he got me through another year, and then I did break down properly.
“He was a hard-arse, Gerard. When he got there, he was mean – he was a mean, nasty man, which is exactly what we needed, because we’d become a bit soft, we’d been on the bottom of the ladder.
“That resonated with me; I loved it. There were a few of the young boys who probably took a bit of time to come through with it.
“We went from easily the worst team in the competition to a prelim final in his first year, which was pretty special.”
After finishing 4-18 in 1997, Melbourne went 14-8 in ‘98, winning two finals before falling five goals short of North Melbourne in the preliminary final.
Daniher led the Demons to two more finals campaigns, including a grand final appearance in 2000 – when Lyon was back at the club in a part-time support role.
Daniher is set to be honoured with a state funeral in the coming weeks.