Synopses & Reviews
On September 1, 1990, four brothers made Australian Rules history by playing together for the one team, the Essendon Football Club, something that is unlikely to ever happen again. Terry, Neale, Anthony, and Chris Daniher grew up in a tiny Riverina town where they played football on Saturdays and Rugby League after mass on Sundays. They reached the elite level in an era when tobacco sponsorship and a few beers with the opposition after a game were the norm. It was a time when Jim Daniher could throw a teenage son into a trade deal and Kevin Sheedy and Edna Daniher could conspire to make a dream come true. But it wasn't all plain sailing: injuries cut short a promising career, trading between clubs was largely unregulated, the Swans were shunted off to Sydney, and coaching changed dramatically. This is an action-packed story of the period when the national Aussie Rules competition emerged and football became big business, and an unassuming bunch of blokes from the bush endeared themselves to football fans and became part of football folklore. After a combined 752 VFL/AFL games, the Danihers continue to be involved in football.
About the Author
After a combined 752 VFL/AFL games, The Danihers continue to be involved in football. Since his playing and coaching days finished, Terry has excelled as a country football ambassador for the AFL. At the start of 2009, Neale took up the position of football operations manager for the West Coast Eagles, having coached the Melbourne Football Club for ten years. Anthony's professional life is the management of Daniher Property Services, and he keeps a keen eye on his son, Darcy, who was drafted to the Bombers in 2007 under the father-son rule. Following in his father's footsteps, Chris is farming and keeping Ungarie Football Club alive. Writer Adam McNicol grew up on a wheat and sheep farm outside Manangatang in north-west Victoria's Mallee region. He didn't cut it playing footy so he took to writing about it instead. He reports for the Age and works as a TV sports reporter with Channel 10.