Bill Guest and Chris Fagan, Neale Daniher’s closest friends, had a final, emotional conversation.

The icon still retained his sense of humor, but ‘I knew when we left, we would never see Neale again – it was so sad.’

Some of Neale Daniher’s closest friends shared fond memories of the Australian icon, who died on Monday at age 65 after a 13-year battle with motor neuron disease.

The grief that permeated the AFL was mixed with pride in his fight, not only for himself, for overcoming dismal statistics, but also for his FightMND career.

Over $100 million has been raised, and millions more will be added to the total when the Big Freeze event takes place again ahead of the King’s Birthday match between beloved Melbourne and Collingwood next month.

Daniher’s health had deteriorated in recent weeks, just as the latest knitwear collection was being launched and promotional activities were being intensified to coincide with the event.

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said he would forever be grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with his close friend Daniher earlier last month at the MCG Stadium.

Fagan was given the chance to start his AFL career in Melbourne by Daniher, and he gained confidence from Daniher.

“Today is a very emotional day. He gave me the opportunity to get involved in the AFL rugby,” Fagan shared with Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters.

“We became close friends, and our families became close friends too; our children often play together. For me personally, coming from outside, being quite unknown, he made me feel like I belonged, that I had an important role. He helped me so much in building my confidence… I really enjoyed the 10 years I worked with him in Melbourne.”

“We’ve remained very close friends since I graduated in Melbourne and he came to the West Coast. We see each other regularly.”

In their last encounter, Daniher proved he still retained his footballing instincts.

“About five or six weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to watch Melbourne play the Gold Coast Suns at MCG Stadium because we were going to play Melbourne a few weeks later,” Fagan said.

“I looked over and saw Neale in his wheelchair, so I was able to go over and chat with him a little.”

“I’m incredibly grateful for that, because I didn’t realize it would be my last chance, but he was there, watching his beloved Dees and telling me we might have some trouble with them in a week or two — and he was absolutely right about that.”

Daniher’s Demons team won spectacularly by two points against the Lions.

Fagan had displayed all the Big Freeze beanies in his office at the Springfield headquarters in Brisbane, and he sat admiring them Monday morning after the Lions’ heavy loss to GWS last weekend.

“On days when I’m feeling a little down and sad, I just look at those beanies and tell myself, ‘Cheer up, follow his example, don’t feel sorry for yourself, keep going,’” he said.

“I looked through them today after what happened yesterday.”

Bill Guest was the first chairman of FightMND and previously a board member in Melbourne.

He was one of Daniher’s closest friends until the end of his life.

“I saw him on Thursday afternoon, and it was really a goodbye, it was sad,” Guest said.

“I walked into Neale’s living room and saw him with wires everywhere, clearly that was the last time I’d ever see him.”

“He still had his sense of humor, still cracked jokes. I was with (FightMND co-founder) Pat Cunningham and I knew when we left, we’d never see Neale again. It’s so sad.”

“Even today when Jenny called this morning, you’re still in tears even though you know it’s going to happen and we’ve known it for a long time. But that doesn’t change who he was and how you feel about it.”

Mr. Guest said he would remember Daniher as someone “carefree, incredibly honest and incredibly stubborn.”

Daniher’s former Essendon teammate, Tim Watson, hadn’t seen Daniher in recent weeks but would cherish their previous conversations.

“Ironically, I was going to text him this morning about something completely unrelated,” Watson said.

“I got distracted and didn’t get back to work, and then I got the call informing me of his passing.”

“It’s remarkable that I’ve never met anyone as extraordinary as him — and I went from being a young player at the same time as him, to being a teammate and then a friend — he was my hero and I think he was a hero to so many others as well.”

“It was because of his sincerity in his actions, the way he worked, that he always put his personal interests and health first.”

“I had the chance to tell him how I felt once, and I’m glad I did, because often we don’t take the time to tell people directly what we think of them.”

“Time can pass, and by then it’s too late.”

Guest recalled that when he and Daniher, along with many others, first launched the FightMND campaign, he hoped to raise an “astonishing” amount of $100,000.

“Look. The next Big Freeze event will probably raise around $20 million,” he smiled.

“That’s extraordinary.”

The famous figure skating has attracted many big names in Australian sports, and Fagan was persuaded to participate in 2018.

But that led to him being hospitalized for surgery.

“I think that helped get the slide noticed for a few more days,” Fagan laughed.

“I tore all the tendons in my hamstring after falling down the stairs. I had surgery two days later — luckily we were given time off from competition.”

“I think Billy Guest was a little nervous about the insurance. There were no handrails to hold onto, but I’ve never been down that road before. It was a pretty famous moment at the event, which was quite embarrassing for me.”

The guest joked, “Admittedly, we were all a little panicked, Fages. I’ve seen the video, and obviously we’d blame you for it, but it turns out you’re a gentleman.”

Watson, a longtime host of 7NEWS, was the first to interview Daniher after he was diagnosed with MND in 2013.

Previously, a private conversation while walking around the park revealed Daniher’s ideas.

“At the time, I really didn’t understand what MND was, and he told me a few things he wanted to do.”

“He was quite naive about how things could go about — we’re talking about the massive avalanche. He had a fundraising idea. I went back to Melbourne and went to my boss, Lewis Martin, and said, ‘I know you don’t know this guy, but he’s so genuine, so honest, he’s just been diagnosed with MND, do you think we, our network, can help him in some way?’”

“And that really started it all, Bill got involved, others got involved, and then Neale understood his role in the whole process.”

“He was hesitant to step out of his comfort zone and become a public figure for something like this, but because it became a major driving force in his life and a goal he could pursue, he embraced it all.”

“And as we know, he took it to an incredible level.”