Chills, they're multiplying as Big Freeze fights beast

Shazza and her idol Warnie continued the good fight against the beast as Max Gawn met his Mini Me and everyone's chills were multiplying.
The 10 sliders rose to the occasion at the 11th Big Freeze, the fundraiser at the MCG that honours FightMND icon and Australian Of The Year Neale Daniher.
As always, amid the fun of 10 celebrities in goofy dress-up sliding into a minus-six degrees ice bath for a good cause, there was pathos and heartache.
Daniher is now confined to a wheelchair and can only talk through eye recognition software as he continues his long fight against MND, which is incurable.
His daughter Bec now does much of the spruiking for their cause.
Big Freeze is held before the King's Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood.
As Demons players warmed up, they all went to greet Daniher, the former Melbourne coach, as he completed a lap of the MCG. Collingwood players also helped form a guard of honour for him.
The theme this year was Australian icons and national cricket captain Alyssa Healy was Sharon "Shazza" Strezlecki, the netballer from Kath and Kim.
Magda Szubanski, who has revealed she is battling an aggressive cancer, made "Shazza" an all-time great Australian TV comedy character.
Healy did it justice, complete with neck brace and a suitably stunned expression as she walked out for her slide.
Former Australian captain Mark Taylor, the last slider, dressed as Shane Warne - Shazza's crush. The slide, fittingly, was set up in the shadow of the Shane Warne stand.
Actor Matt Nable came as Angus Young from AC-DC and remembered his brother Aaron, who died of MND last year.
Cadel Evans, the only Australian to win the Tour de France, was a miniature Max Gawn and the Melbourne captain greeted him after his slide.
Gawn, who stands at 2.08m, is also an avid cyclist and Evans, all 174cm of him, is one of his idols.
"Your worst day on the bike is better than my best day on a footy field," Evans told Gawn.
Swimming great Ariarne Titmus was Sandy from Grease, played by Olivia Newton-John, and as the song from the movie goes, chills were multiplying in the ice bath.
Former Melbourne star Aaron Davey honoured AFL and Indigenous great Michael Long, while TV presenter and former sprinter Matt Shirvington was Chris Hemsworth's movie character Thor.
A $10,000 bet was made that Shirvington would stay in his costume for the flight back to Sydney.
Peter Daicos, whose sons Nick and Josh were playing for the Magpies on Monday, always loves the limelight and he came as Heath Ledger's iconic Joker.
National netball captain Liz Watson was in all pink as Margot Robbie's Cowgirl Barbie and motor sport great Craig Lowndes was in all black as Mad Max.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Age

43 minutes ago

• The Age

‘We'll give it back': Pies promise to defend Daicos as Windhager's tactics questioned

Collingwood veteran Jack Crisp has warned anyone who tags Nick Daicos to expect physical attention from the young superstar's Magpie teammates after Saint Marcus Windhager's tactics were criticised during Saturday night's clash at Marvel Stadium. St Kilda tagger Windhager clamped down on Daicos from the first bounce, when he gave away a free kick for a shove to the chest, but some of his off-the-ball tactics were described as 'outside the code' by dual North Melbourne premiership player David King. Vision aired by Fox Footy showed Daicos reaching for his hamstring and turning around to remonstrate after Windhager made contact with his leg. The Saint then whacked Daicos on the bicep as he followed him into the forward line, and then appeared to deliver a soft slap towards his face, prompting the Magpie to throw his head backwards. 'This is the sort of stuff that's going on. Little knees to the back of the hamstrings. I think that's too far,' King said on Fox Footy. 'Taggers do anything to get under the skin,' King added. 'Just little things that are a step too far. [Knees] are a no-go, I think that's outside the code ... If that's happened 15, 20 times, I'd expect a call from the AFL. We've got to look after our star-factor players. The game owes these players some sort of protection.' Collingwood scored a workmanlike 34-point victory, kicking the last four goals of the game. Daicos, who still had 30 disposals, broke free to kick a brilliant goal during the final term, prompting Daicos to celebrate as if he'd won a grand final and his teammates to erupt around him. Crisp told this masthead the Collingwood players were determined to stick up for Daicos, which showed as Scott Pendlebury chested Windhager as he followed his opponent to the interchange bench.

Sydney Morning Herald

44 minutes ago

• Sydney Morning Herald

‘We'll give it back': Pies promise to defend Daicos as Windhager's tactics questioned

Collingwood veteran Jack Crisp has warned anyone who tags Nick Daicos to expect physical attention from the young superstar's Magpie teammates after Saint Marcus Windhager's tactics were criticised during Saturday night's clash at Marvel Stadium. St Kilda tagger Windhager clamped down on Daicos from the first bounce, when he gave away a free kick for a shove to the chest, but some of his off-the-ball tactics were described as 'outside the code' by dual North Melbourne premiership player David King. Vision aired by Fox Footy showed Daicos reaching for his hamstring and turning around to remonstrate after Windhager made contact with his leg. The Saint then whacked Daicos on the bicep as he followed him into the forward line, and then appeared to deliver a soft slap towards his face, prompting the Magpie to throw his head backwards. 'This is the sort of stuff that's going on. Little knees to the back of the hamstrings. I think that's too far,' King said on Fox Footy. 'Taggers do anything to get under the skin,' King added. 'Just little things that are a step too far. [Knees] are a no-go, I think that's outside the code ... If that's happened 15, 20 times, I'd expect a call from the AFL. We've got to look after our star-factor players. The game owes these players some sort of protection.' Collingwood scored a workmanlike 34-point victory, kicking the last four goals of the game. Daicos, who still had 30 disposals, broke free to kick a brilliant goal during the final term, prompting Daicos to celebrate as if he'd won a grand final and his teammates to erupt around him. Crisp told this masthead the Collingwood players were determined to stick up for Daicos, which showed as Scott Pendlebury chested Windhager as he followed his opponent to the interchange bench.

Herald Sun

an hour ago

• Herald Sun

AFL Coach asks the big Nick Daicos question as Collingwood Magpies rival violates players' code

Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. North Melbourne great David King has sensationally suggested St Kilda's Marcus Windhager violated the players' code during his tagging of Nick Daicos on Saturday night. The Collingwood superstar shook off a determined tag and tore the Saints apart in the Magpies' 16.12 (108) to 11.8 (74) win at Marvel Stadium. Footy pundits across the industry questioned if Windhager's niggling tactics crossed the line, but the situation took another turn after the game with St Kilda coach Ross Lyon asking the million dollar question about how umpires treat the Brownlow medal-fancy. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The success of Melbourne's Ed Langdon last round understandably prompted the Saints to send proven stopper Windhager to Daicos' side right from the first bounce. But Daicos was up to the challenge, kicking into gear physically and aerobically to ensure the Magpies went six points clear on top of the ladder. He was kept under wraps in the first quarter but broke through in style during strong second, third and fourth quarters. Daicos was crucial in Collingwood's third quarter burst – which collected three goals in two minutes – before hitting the scoreboard himself with only an inch of space in the last. You can watch the cheap shots and knee incident in the video player above Nick Daicos was worn like a cheap suit. Photo: Fox Footy. He finished with 30 disposals, five clearances, nine inside 50s, nine score involvements and a goal. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Lyon questioned whether Daicos is umpired differently to others after two early free kicks went the Collingwood star's way. Lyon saw both players 'have their moments' but was confused with some of the decisions judged against Windhager. 'Daicos had a fair bit of ball, a few entries, he moved around (and) I think we handled that,' Lyon said. 'We'll probably go early and look at some of those free kicks, I am not sure they're free kicks but I think we'll take that in and ask the question. 'Are there two sets of rules going around? I am not sure, am I allowed to say that? 'I think he's (Daicos) a great player, we know that, a great young player – at the end they (Collingwood) get the points and go, 'It didn't work'. 'When we were even and come from 20 points down, it's looking good, we say, 'It's working'. I like the theatre of it … I think it's great for the game, isn't it?' Marcus Windhager of the Saints and Nick Daicos of the Magpies. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images. It came after Collingwood coach Craig McRae shined a light on Windhager's looming Daicos assignment this week by questioning the 'value' of tagging. King said on Fox Footy after the game Windhager had gone too far, saying the Saints star's behaviour was 'against the code'. King's comments were made as Fox Footy showed clips of Daicos being pinched, pushed and smothered off the ball. It was the sight of Windhager kneeing Daicos to the back of his legs late in the game that angered King the most. 'I think Craig McRae would be frustrated,' King said. 'In the last few weeks he's put it to the media in an attempt I think to get the umpire department to wise up. This is the sort of stuff that's going on. Little knees to the hamstring. I think that's too far. 'These sorts of things. Taggers will do anything to get under your skin. There's a little whack here. Just little things that are a step too far.' King said he didn't like the treatment Daicos received at stoppages. 'The game owes these sorts of players some form of protection,' he said. Nick Daicos celebrates during against the Saints. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images. Nick Daicos appeals to the umpire. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images) 'The umpires did take a stand early. They paid a free kick to a punch in the stomach 30 seconds into the game. I think perfect. Craig McRae's had a big win here. 'I still think our stars get held and contorted and twisted at stoppages.' The Magpies are now more than a game clear of reigning premier Brisbane with last-placed West Coast next week. Speaking after the game, McRae once again stressed the importance of protecting Daicos. 'I just said to Nick when he came off for the first break that we don't want him to fight the battles, we'll fight them for him,' he said. 'He didn't need to get caught up in the wrestle of that; the free kick against I am probably talking about. 'As a group, as a team, we want to look after him (and) we don't want him sitting there feeling like he's fighting his own battle. 'I feel like tonight as a collective, Nick's had 30 possessions, so you'd say his performance was pretty impactful and then the way we looked after Nick.' — with NewsWire Originally published as Coach asks the big Nick Daicos question as rival violates players' code