A Legacy of Courage
In the last three weeks, Australia has lost two amazing men — Neale Daniher AO and Professor Richard Scolyer AO. Neale was 65 and Richard was 59.
Many of my readers may not know who these men were, but both changed lives and made extraordinary contributions to the world.
Neale was well known to the Australian public, not only as an AFL footballer but also as a respected coach. In 2013, he was diagnosed with MND, commonly known as ALS in North America. Instead of accepting there was nothing that could be done, he chose to fight in the only way he knew how.
He refused to believe there wasn’t a cure somewhere out there and became a tireless campaigner for medical research and support for those living with the disease.
He co-founded FightMND, and every year on the King’s Birthday holiday, the AFL hosted the “Big Freeze.” Beanies were sold around the country — not only physical ones to wear, but virtual ones to help fill the MCG where the game was played. Celebrities from every walk of life slid into a pool of ice while raising funds for the charity.
Neale was initially told he would most likely live only another 18–28 months after diagnosis, yet he pushed on for 13 years.
I was lucky enough to meet Neale in 2017 when we were both being interviewed on a television show. He was such a grateful and beautiful man to speak with — always looking ahead, never back. Always asking WITO - Where is the opportunity.
In 2019, he was named Victorian of the Year, and in 2025, Australian of the Year.
To date, excluding this year’s Big Freeze on June 8, FightMND has raised more than $117 million. His legacy will live on, and I have no doubt that one day he will be smiling down when a cause and cure are finally found.
Sadly Neale lost his fight with ‘The Beast’ as he called it, on the 25th of May only weeks out from the 12th Big Freeze.
“Imagine a world where families don’t have to deal with this cruel disease MND”~ Neale Daniher AO
If you would like to hear in his own words Neale’s wishes for his grandchildren and other click here it is well worth watching!
Neale Daniher AO
The second amazing man was Professor Richard Scolyer. Although I never met him, it somehow felt as though we all knew him.
In 2024, Richard and his colleague Professor Georgina Long AO were named Australians of the Year.
Richard helped develop the Melanoma Institute Australia, where he and Professor Long became part of a team pioneering the use of immunotherapy treatment for melanoma.
Then, in 2022, Richard was diagnosed with brain cancer. Rather than simply accepting his diagnosis, he chose to become a guinea pig for the very treatment they had successfully developed for melanoma, hoping it could also fight his brain cancer.
As he said on ABC’s Australian Story, he wasn’t only trying to find a cure for himself, but for others around the world facing the same disease.
Early treatment and results looked incredibly promising. In November 2024, he announced he had been cancer-free for 18 months. Sadly, that didn’t continue, but he remained hopeful that clinical trials would continue the work.
In February this year, the clinical trials he had hoped to see became a reality in the United States.
Sadly, on June 7, the world lost Richard to brain cancer.
Professor Richard Scolyer AO
To lose two incredible Australians in less than a month is heartbreaking. But we can continue what they fought for and honour what they gave to people living with these diseases, to this country, and to the world.
Their legacies will live on — not only through the continued fight against MND and brain cancer, but also through their families, communities, colleagues, and the wider public they inspired.
Let us all try to live the way they did: strong, courageous, and thinking not only of themselves, but of others.
“The courage you show can change lives. Be brave, be bold, and challenge the status quo.” ~ Professor Richard Scolyer AO
If you would like to see the courage behind the diagnosis for Richard please click here it truly is inspirational