Neale Daniher honoured with guard of honour from both teams before King's Birthday clash
The pre-match begun, as always, with the Big Freeze 11 sliders, where Sunrise star Matt Shirvington and Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus led a group of 10 Aussie icons, dressed in the theme of Aussie icons.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Guard of honour formed for Neale Daniher.
Then, when the two teams entered the stadium for their last-minute pre-match run-throughs, every Melbourne player ran over to Daniher on the sidelines to each give him their own touch.
Minutes later, players from both sides, as well as coaches and umpires, formed a guard of honour for the Australian of the Year, just ahead of the first bounce of the game.
Daniher was wheeled through the guard of honour by his son Luke in what was an emotional scene.
A sea of the iconic blue beanies formed the backdrop to the guard of honour, which was conducted on the boundary line near the crowd.
It was a special touch added to what has already become a landmark event on the Australian sporting calendar.
'This is a magic moment,' Dale Thomas said.
Bruce McAvaney added: 'What a football family the Danihers are, and what an Australian family they've become.
'And for Neale, who could have hidden away from this and we wouldn't have seen them for all these years, he has delivered in spades in terms of inspiration.'
Kate McCarthy was at ground level when it happened: 'Really emotional scenes just then as both teams gave the guard of honour to Neale Daniher and incredibly touching down here.'
Melbourne players get around Neale Daniher before Pies clash
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