28/05/2026
Vale Neale Daniher
Today we pause to honour the life of Neale Daniher — a man who showed us what it means to fight with courage, humour, and heart.
Neale wasn't just a football legend. He became the voice, the symbol, and the relentless spirit behind Australia's fight against MND. When diagnosed with what he called "the Beast", he didn't retreat. He stepped forward — and brought an entire nation with him.
Automobility's MND journey began in 2015 when one of our friends passed away from MND.
Soon after, we met Dr Ian Davis, who had recently been diagnosed and went on to establish the Cure for MND Foundation. Ian needed a wheelchair accessible vehicle to get to functions, so we loaned the Foundation a Kia Carnival WAV to support his work.
We became sponsors of the Cure for MND Foundation Gala Dinner, and expanded our support by branding our Aussie Racing Car, driven by our CEO Jeff Watters, in Cure for MND Foundation livery. We even took it to the winner's circle in 2017.
When Neale's diagnosis became public, he became an integral part of the Foundation and FightMND was born — with Ian still a driving force until MND ultimately claimed his life.
We changed our racing livery to FightMND and carried the message across Australia and New Zealand, hearing so many people's MND stories along the way.
We continued our support through participating in the Daniher's Drive, a FightMND event across Victoria. You had to behold Neale's singing and dancing to Mr Brightside to fully appreciate his fanatical commitment to fighting the Beast.
In 2026, with the support of the FightMND CEO, Automobility transitioned our MND support to MND Victoria, who provide specific care for those living with MND.
Neale's passing is another sad result from MND, he fought the Beast hard. I think he'd call it a draw.
