
Aussie actor Matt Nable to honour late brother Aaron as Big Freeze slider
Former rugby league player turned Australian actor Matt Nable has been unveiled as a Big Freeze slider alongside cricket great Mark Taylor.
Nable will take the plunge at the King's Birthday AFL blockbuster next week just over a year after his brother Aaron died from MND.
Aaron was diagnosed in July 2022 and died in March 2024 aged just 46.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
Nable first spoke with the Daniher family in the weeks after Aaron's death, teaming up with FightMND in the lead-up to Big Freeze 11.
The looming occasion has already weighed heavily.
'These were good days,' he wrote, sharing an old photo of his brother in the boxing gym.
'Boxing unearthed a toughness in Aaron that kept him alive. His fight will never be forgotten.
'I've missed him this last week so very much.
'Next weekend is the Big Freeze, and I'm honoured and humbled to be a part of it with Bec Daniher, FightMND and her warrior dad Neale Daniher.'
Nable, who has also taken on NRL commentary and voiceover roles in recent years, featured in FightMND promotions with fellow actors Asher Keddie, Eric Bana and Channel 7's own Abbey Holmes last month.
He will be joined as a slider next Monday by Taylor, AFL great Peter Daicos and Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus.
This year's theme is 'iconic Australians' in a nod to Neale Daniher's Australian of the Year honour.
Unfiltered on Wednesday night.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Perth Now
21 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Let fans have their flares, says Socceroos veteran
Socceroos veteran Milos Degenek wants to see flares back at Australian soccer games, saying travelling teams now have it too easy due to fans being over policed. More than 50,000 fans are expected to turn out on Thursday night when Australia host Japan in a crunch World Cup qualifier at Optus Stadium in Perth. The match will be played less than a week after riot police were called in to control unruly fans walking to the game in the lead up to Melbourne City's A-League Men grand-final win over arch-rivals Melbourne Victory. About 20 flares were lit in the crowd, with one police officer taken to hospital after allegedly being kicked. Football Australia strictly bans flares and other pyrotechnics in and around stadiums, with perpetrators facing hefty bans. The Socceroos have faced plenty of hostile crowds over the years in various World Cup qualifying campaigns, but Degenek feels Australian fans aren't given the scope to return the favour due to restrictions being placed on them. "It would be a lot nicer if when countries come to Australia to play against us, the crowd was a little bit more hostile" Degenek said in Perth on Tuesday. "Put it this way. I played in Serbia. I played at Red Star Belgrade, in the Eternal Derby where you play Partizan (Belgrade), where flares are thrown onto a pitch, where the city gets shut down on game day. "But in the end, that's normal for me. There's no fear. "There's a code in the footballing world: Fans are never going to attack footballers. "I saw the pictures from the (A-League) grand final - a lot of police. "For me, I just think it's nonsense that you have people in riot gear for guys who are going to a game. "I don't think we're going to a war. We're just going to a football game. You're making it out to be a lot worse than what it is." Degenek believes by tightening down on people's rights with a huge police presence, it leads to more problems. "That has a counter effect, in my opinion," he said. "Because you are paying so much attention to those things - fans or flares and this and that - in the end, you're going to force an issue, because you're narrowing down corridors where they can walk. "You're pushing them to a side. Someone's going to step on someone, someone's going to push and then that escalates really quick, rather than give them freedom to move and getting them safely to a stadium. "Once they're in, you close them off. No one's going to walk out onto the pitch, no one's going to walk out to the other side and fight with the other fans, because by the time you get from A to B, it's a 150m walk." Degenek believes more people would attend games if they were policed less. "You need to give the fans the freedom, the joy," he said. "Because the more you do that (police them), the less people are going to go to the stadium. "In Europe, you have less police, and that's where you have more fans at the games. "And for us as footballers, it's a lot better when you see flares in the stadium, when you see fans screaming, chanting, flares going off, because that kind of gets the adrenaline going and motivates you even more." The Socceroos (13 points) sit second in their qualifying group. A win over Japan (20 points) would almost certainly lock in their place for the 2026 World Cup.


West Australian
24 minutes ago
- West Australian
Let fans have their flares, says Socceroos veteran
Socceroos veteran Milos Degenek wants to see flares back at Australian soccer games, saying travelling teams now have it too easy due to fans being over policed. More than 50,000 fans are expected to turn out on Thursday night when Australia host Japan in a crunch World Cup qualifier at Optus Stadium in Perth. The match will be played less than a week after riot police were called in to control unruly fans walking to the game in the lead up to Melbourne City's A-League Men grand-final win over arch-rivals Melbourne Victory. About 20 flares were lit in the crowd, with one police officer taken to hospital after allegedly being kicked. Football Australia strictly bans flares and other pyrotechnics in and around stadiums, with perpetrators facing hefty bans. The Socceroos have faced plenty of hostile crowds over the years in various World Cup qualifying campaigns, but Degenek feels Australian fans aren't given the scope to return the favour due to restrictions being placed on them. "It would be a lot nicer if when countries come to Australia to play against us, the crowd was a little bit more hostile" Degenek said in Perth on Tuesday. "Put it this way. I played in Serbia. I played at Red Star Belgrade, in the Eternal Derby where you play Partizan (Belgrade), where flares are thrown onto a pitch, where the city gets shut down on game day. "But in the end, that's normal for me. There's no fear. "There's a code in the footballing world: Fans are never going to attack footballers. "I saw the pictures from the (A-League) grand final - a lot of police. "For me, I just think it's nonsense that you have people in riot gear for guys who are going to a game. "I don't think we're going to a war. We're just going to a football game. You're making it out to be a lot worse than what it is." Degenek believes by tightening down on people's rights with a huge police presence, it leads to more problems. "That has a counter effect, in my opinion," he said. "Because you are paying so much attention to those things - fans or flares and this and that - in the end, you're going to force an issue, because you're narrowing down corridors where they can walk. "You're pushing them to a side. Someone's going to step on someone, someone's going to push and then that escalates really quick, rather than give them freedom to move and getting them safely to a stadium. "Once they're in, you close them off. No one's going to walk out onto the pitch, no one's going to walk out to the other side and fight with the other fans, because by the time you get from A to B, it's a 150m walk." Degenek believes more people would attend games if they were policed less. "You need to give the fans the freedom, the joy," he said. "Because the more you do that (police them), the less people are going to go to the stadium. "In Europe, you have less police, and that's where you have more fans at the games. "And for us as footballers, it's a lot better when you see flares in the stadium, when you see fans screaming, chanting, flares going off, because that kind of gets the adrenaline going and motivates you even more." The Socceroos (13 points) sit second in their qualifying group. A win over Japan (20 points) would almost certainly lock in their place for the 2026 World Cup.

News.com.au
28 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Peter Gelagotis Racing in drive to raise funds for motor neurone disease in month of June
Three-year-old stayer Thunder Zeus would contribute to one of Australian sport's greatest causes if he saluted at Flemington on Saturday. Thunder Zeus will carry the official FightMND silks as part of the Neale Daniher-inspired drive to raise funds for research into motor neurone disease. The King's Birthday weekend is the high point of FightMND's fundraising campaign as celebrities slide into icy water at Monday's AFL game between Collingwood and Melbourne. The Peter Gelagotis stable is doing its bit for the cause with all its runners to carry the FightMND colours during the month of June. Southside Racing and Racing Victoria will donate $1000 for each winner the stable prepares with the yellow and black silks this month. Stable manager Manny Gelagotis said the FightMND cause resonated with him in his capacity as the president of the Moe Lions Football Club. 'We're doing this in conjunction with the Moe Lions where Neale Daniher's son Ben has played for the last four or five years,' Gelagotis said. 'That's how the connection was made and I've got to know the family well.' Gelagotis said the Moe Lions would hold its annual FightMND fundraiser at its game on Saturday while Thunder Zeus hopefully fought out the finish of a three-year-old race over 2000m at Flemington. 'It's my passion to drive it through my two interests in racing and the footy club,' Gelagotis said. 'We've got many people like Peter Daicos, Nathan Buckley, Sam Kekovich and Denis Pagan that have all done videos for us to help raise awareness. 'The big event happens at Ted Summerton (Oval) on Saturday and it's turned into a really big thing because a lot of other leagues don't play on the long weekend so we get heaps of people coming from everywhere. 'Health-permitting, we hope Neale is going to be there but it's a day-to-day thing and it's been so powerful when he has made it in the past.' Thunder Zeus will head to Flemington as a last-start winner of a maiden over 2080m. Gelagotis said the son of Night Of Thunder was an improving young stayer with plenty of potential. 'He was too good for them at Cranbourne and he's getting better all the time,' Gelagotis said. 'He's going really well but it would be great to see the FightMND colours at Flemington to raise awareness with the racing people.'