Hamish warns Uncle Colin: ‘Don’t muck it up’

Neale Daniher was farewelled at the MCG on Wednesday in a star-studded state funeral, where MC Hamish McLachlan surprised the service with a warning to Uncle Colin Hunter ahead of the Welcome to Country. Daniher’s daughter Lauren revealed his last message to h

The moment Hamish McLachlan called for Uncle Colin Hunter to deliver the Welcome to Country, the script briefly broke — with one line that landed like a joke and a warning at the same time.

“Don’t muck it up!” McLachlan told the Indigenous elder before the service at the MCG began, setting the tone for a day that would swing between tenderness and raw recognition of what Neale Daniher meant to football and to the people who watched him battle motor neurone disease.

Hunter, who had forged a reputation as one of Australia’s best Welcome celebrants at major sporting events, then delivered what was described as a flawless Welcome. He also changed it to include a special tribute to Daniher.

Outside the stadium and inside the aisles. thousands gathered on Wednesday on the same hallowed ground Daniher played for and coached — a sea of fans packed into the MCG for the state funeral of the footy icon who died on May 25. aged 65. after a 13-year-long public battle with what he called “The Beast.”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan led the tributes as the AFL world filled the stands, with Daniher remembered as a symbol of the fight against MND.

Before either politician spoke to the crowd, the man of the moment for many in attendance was still Daniher’s daughter Lauren — who returned the service again and again to the private, human side of his illness. She revealed the final thing her father told her and her mum Jan before he passed away.

“The last thing Dad communicated to Mum and me was that he wanted to get up,” she said.

It was a small statement, but it carried weight: Daniher, left wheelchair-bound by MND, had refused to be defined by it. The anecdote echoed the message that had run through his public life — stubborn will, unpolished honesty, and a determination to move forward even when his body no longer did.

McLachlan opened proceedings by telling the assembled mourners: “Today we gather to remember a great Aussie, one who not only left his mark on the game, but on humanity.”

Jacinta Allan followed and brought the crowd back to childhood, recalling barracking for the Essendon team that included Daniher and his brothers. She also read words from a letter she said Daniher sent her last year.

“You can’t always choose what happens, but you can always choose how you respond,” the letter read.

It continued: “Waiting for certainty keeps you stuck and courage begins the moment you decide.”

For Albanese, the central point was that MND never shrank Daniher — it sharpened him.

“None of it diminished him. It enlarged him,” the prime minister said.

Albanese described how Daniher’s words became more powerful as he lost his voice, and how when he could no longer walk, more and more Australians began to march beside him with beanies on.

Music also found its way into the day in a different form. Musician Paul Kelly changed the chorus of his hit “Leaps and Bounds” as part of a surprise musical performance paying tribute to Daniher.

The chorus adaptation was tied to the nickname that stuck to Daniher in the football world. Kelly played one of Daniher’s favourite songs and added Daniher’s name to the chorus, saying, “I remember. I remember you, Neale. We remember you, Reverend.”

Jan Daniher brought laughter when she spoke about her first date with Neale in Melbourne’s CBD — two people dining on lamb’s fry in a “dark old pub.” Her voice then broke when she shifted to what she called his most important role: becoming a father to their four children.

“It gave him a new perspective on life. He adored being a dad,” she said.

With the tributes flowing, more of Daniher’s family took the microphone. Jan and Neale’s children — Lauren, Luke, Bec and Ben — all spoke.

Lauren made the crowd laugh with a story about how her father sometimes got so wrapped up in footy that he forgot to pick her and her siblings up from school. Ben also joked about being coached by his dad, saying it was the only premiership his old man won after his playing career finished.

Luke spoke about living his life by the acronym his father taught him: WITO, where is the opportunity. He also repeated a football saying Daniher often cited: “When it’s your turn to go, you go.”

Luke said: “When MND came calling, Dad didn’t ask why. He didn’t step back, he stepped forward, because if he expected others to fight, he knew he had to fight too.”

Luke also remembered the feedback Daniher gave him in his first game back in local football after the COVID-19 lockdowns. He had gained weight and told his father it didn’t matter because he was an inside-midfielder and bigger worked fine for Carlton’s Patrick Cripps.

Luke described how he saw Daniher grinning as he typed out a response. When the “machine finally spouted it out,” Luke said Daniher told him: “Well, you’re not Crippa and Crippa’s not fat.”

Bec Daniher — the executive director and spokesperson for her dad’s FightMND charity — was due to continue her speech, but she broke down before she could finish. She told the crowd Daniher wasn’t big on giving out compliments, so “a simple ‘well done’ meant the world to me,” before crying.

She then spoke about the fact Neale would never see the unborn child she is carrying.

“I know you wanted to meet him, he will have your spirit,” she said through tears.

Daniher’s grandson Cooper and granddaughter Rosie also spoke. Rosie told the crowd: “I love Poppy very much … he would rock me to sleep on his leg … I wish he could come back and take me on adventures.”

Among those looking on were Daniher’s brother and fellow Essendon icon Terry, along with other family members including Anthony Daniher — who played alongside Neale and their brothers Terry and Chris at Essendon. Anthony hailed his sibling in front of the fans and AFL luminaries.

The current playing groups from the Demons and Bombers were also in attendance.

Essendon great James Hird arrived with former Bombers chairman Paul Little, while the audience included Scott Selwood, Mark Harvey, former AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou and current league boss Andrew Dillon.

Other AFL figures present included John Worsfold, Demons legends David Neitz and Paul Hopgood — both of whom spoke to share stories about their former coach — as well as Swans boss Dean Cox, Garry Lyon, Brett Ratten and Ron Andrews.

Rex Hunt also turned up, despite largely vanishing from the public eye in recent years after suffering a health scare in 2023. Hunt played for Richmond, Geelong and St Kilda before becoming a TV star with his fishing show and footy commentary.

Daniher’s funeral brought the game together in a way that matched his reputation: uncompromising and deeply personal, both on and off the field. He is survived by his wife, their four children and six grandchildren.

Just before the day moved fully into remembrance. the warning from Hamish McLachlan — “Don’t muck it up!” — still hung in the air. It was meant to keep the moment right. It landed, too, because what followed wasn’t a mistake or a performance. It was a full-throated tribute delivered with care, and with the kind of certainty Daniher spent years fighting for.

Neale Daniher state funeral MCG Hamish McLachlan Uncle Colin Hunter Welcome to Country Anthony Albanese Jacinta Allan MND FightMND Paul Kelly Leaps and Bounds Essendon Melbourne AFL