Norwood champion Mitch Grigg leads Redlegs’ MND campaign to honour his father as he battles the disease
NORWOOD will dedicate its charity game at the weekend to the MND campaign with the Redlegs’ “Big Freeze” having touched the SANFL club in the past year
MAGAREY Medallist Mitch Grigg had - until this year - watched the annual MND Big Freeze at the MCG on the Queen’s Birthday holiday like so many others: Admiring Neale Daniher’s courage.
But this year - and this weekend at Norwood Oval - the Redlegs midfielder and former Crow has a greater understanding of motor neurone disease after his father Chris was diagnosed with the ailment.
“You never imagine it will affect you - and you’d never wish it on anyone,” Grigg said. “And when it does hit someone close to you, it is really hard.
“But the more you talk about it; the more open you are about it,” adds Grigg, admiring
Daniher’s very public stand against MND, “the easier it is to handle.”
Norwood this weekend - with its SANFL clash with the Crows on Saturday - will dedicate its “Count Me In” game to the MND campaign in honour of former Redlegs player Damien Lane who died of the disease last year.
The other face to the day is Chris Grigg, who also played three SANFL league games for the Redlegs with his senior debut in 1983. The Athelstone football hero was diagnosed with MND a year ago.
“I was working long hours opening a gym at Mawson Lakes and my body was doing stuff it was not used to,” Chris Grigg said. “I’d put it down to stress and fatigue .. until all the tests came back with MND.”
Norwood and the SA branch of the MND campaign will raise funds at The Parade on Saturday with the sale on the blue beanies tied to Daniher’s Big Freeze campaign - and with a gold-coin collection with a dunking machine at the northern end of Norwood Oval.
Crows captain Taylor Walker will catch an early flight from Melbourne - after playing in Adelaide’s grand final rematch with Richmond at the MCG on Friday night - to be part of dunking candidates with Crows team-mate Eddie Betts and former Adelaide star Tyson Edwards.
Norwood greats Michael Aish and Michael Taylor and Redlegs senior coach Jarrod Cotton also will be taking turns on the dunking machine from noon.
michelangelo.rucci@news.com.au