The public life of Neale Daniher, who has died aged 65 after a fight against motor neurone disease, had three distinct phases: prospective champion, a celebrated coaching career and leading the Big Freeze. Remembering the man, his Daniher-isms and a transcendent national figure.

Daniher fought to find a cure for MND after his 2013 diagnosis, a condition he mockingly called "The Beast."

A towering figure in the AFL, Daniher fought against motor neurone disease for more than a decade.