Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Good afternoon folks and thanks so much for joining us.
The sky is crystal blue and the sun is shining, but that water in the slide looks – as Bec Daniher promised – “frighteningly cold”.
As we wait for the event to kick off at 2pm, here’s a collection of our favourite pics from previous years.
The Neale Daniher Trophy will be presented for the first time after the game to the player who best demonstrates the values Neale lived by – bravery, resilience, unity, care, conviction and selflessness.
At the conclusion of the match, Melbourne coach Steven King and Collingwood coach Craig McRae will each award 3-2-1 votes to the players they believe best exemplified those values throughout the game.
Earlier in the day, the state government kicked the day off with the announcement of a $500,000 donation to fight MND – its biggest ever contribution in 12 years of Big Freeze games.
To borrow the words of Russell Robertson, who played under Daniher and MC’ed this morning’s Demons fan event, “it’s one of the great sights in Australian football” – a sea of blue beanies streaming towards the MCG for the annual King’s Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood.
After a gloomy first week of winter in Melbourne, the sun is out and the sky matches the headwear for the first Big Freeze since AFL great Neale Daniher died after a 13-year battle with motor neurone disease last month.
The twelfth edition of the fundraiser is hoped to be the biggest yet. Speaking to the thousands gathered at the Demons fan event at Federation Square before the game, the message from the Daniher family was clear – though Neale is gone, the fight is only just beginning. Play on.
The audience is diverse in its connections to Neale and the game – from die hard fans like Josie and Mike Fitzsimons who travel from Wangaratta every year to attend, to former team mate of Daniher’s, Simon Eishard, who is there with his daughter. But whether lifelong supporters or friends, all describe him the same way – a national treasure (with a great sense of humour).
The game and cause is particularly close to the heart of Creswick GP Dr Josh Saunders, who will today become the first-ever Big Freeze Community Slider.
Also heading down the slide for the first time will be former Melbourne skipper Nathan Jones, who also played under Daniher and got the call up from the big man himself in his final months.
Joining him in the two tonne ice bath, which Bec Daniher promised would be “frighteningly cold”, will be attorney general Sam Mostyn, comedian Andy Lee, singer Amy Shark, footy podcaster Daniel Gorringe and All-Australian Dale Thomas, to name a few.
And while the battle of one man with the beast has reached an end, another has begun – Jai Arrow, who will toss the coin, recently went public with his own diagnosis which forced his retirement from rugby league football.
Collingwood and Melbourne need a response. It’s not quite on the scale of what Neale Daniher did over the last 13 astonishing years of his life, but a response nonetheless.
The Magpies and Demons have hit significant mid-season turbulence ahead of the King’s Birthday AFL blockbuster on Monday at the MCG.
Daniher’s death a fortnight ago dramatically raises the importance of the occasion. This will be the 12th Big Freeze pre-game event, which raises awareness for the FightMND charity.
Established after Daniher’s devastating motor neurone disease diagnosis in 2013, FightMND has helped raise more than $150 million to fight the incurable and fatal illness that he called The Beast.
Thanks so much for joining us for this momentous day. I’m Hannah Kennelly and I’ll be guiding today’s Big Freeze coverage and game.
Thanks so much for joining us.
The Big Freeze slide begins at 2pm, followed by the Melbourne v Collingwood game at 3.15pm.
Grab your popcorn and strap in.
