HAWTHORN has thrown its support behind former AFL  player and coach Neale Daniher and his fight against Motor Neurone Disease, ahead of the second instalment of the ‘Big Freeze at the G’ on June 13.

All of the Hawks who trained today donned the now iconic blue beanies in support of Daniher - and indeed the efforts of people all over the world to find a cure for MND - a cause which has elevated its profile enourmously in the last couple of years after Daniher’s diagnosis and subsequent determination to raise awareness about the disease and funds for further research.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said at training this morning that the club has a deep connection with Daniher, with a number of assistant coaches and other football staff having played under or coached alongside him.

“Our club in particular has got a lot of people who have had really close connections with Neale, we’ve got nearly his best mate in footy, Chris Fagan, as our footy manager who spent nearly 10 years at Melbourne with him,” he said.

“David Neitz, Adem Yze and Cameron Bruce have all played under him for significant periods of time and even I spent the early part of my coaching career with Neale too, so I’m indebted to him as well.”

“We want to back the cause as much as we can, he’s a great man, he’s made an enormous contribution to football and he’s had a big influence on some really important people around our footy club.”

The ‘Big Freeze at the G’ brought together a number of AFL identities who were dunked in an icy cold pool last year before the Queen’s Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood, and will be held for a second year with more people in the AFL industry braving an icy swim for the cause.

Eddie McGuire, Matthew Richardson, Kevin Sheedy and Matthew Lloyd headline the identities who will be dunked in the name of raising funds for the research of MND. 

To donate, head to www.freezemnd.com.