Senior Joe Daniher (2020-)

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Hugh beauty! McCluggage's stunner see Lions past Dees

Only Joe could do that

On a frustrating night for Joe Daniher, he still found a way to have an impact – in a way only he could. As the Lions streamed forward in the third quarter Daniher looked like taking an uncontested mark about 40m out. However, he dropped it, then tripped over, and with two teammates heading towards goal unattended, the lanky full-forward got to his feet and kicked it off the ground – and watched it dribble through. Unintentional as it was, it was an unforgettable moment all the same.
 

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Comedy, drama, reality: Why the Joe Show is like no other

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ONLY one player in the AFL lives in a different state to the one he plays in.

The same player is just as likely to kick a goal from 65m as he is to miss one from 25m.

He's taken a Mark of the Year and won an elimination final off his own boot.

He provides highlights almost every week and always gives paying spectators and television viewers something to remember – good, not-so-good, bizarre - and all with a smile.

He divides opinions.

That man is Joe Daniher.

Preparing to play his 200th game on Saturday night against former club Essendon, the Brisbane full-forward has kept a typically low profile this week.

Aside from a small chat with the club's media team, the 30-year-old has done nothing outside the ordinary to discuss his milestone.

It's the way he has always liked it, and part of the reason mystique still surrounds him 12 seasons into his career.

From the moment he entered the AFL system, 'The Joe Show' has been anything but conventional.

The son of Anthony, Daniher went to the Bombers amidst a swarm of fanfare in late 2012 via the father-son rule to join brother Darcy at Windy Hill.

His first pre-season uncovered Essendon's 'supplements saga' that pitchforked the club into a hellish few seasons.

There were glimpses of his prodigious talent through those first few years, with it all coming together in 2017 when Daniher won the Crichton Medal, an Anzac Medal, an All-Australian jacket and the Mark of the Year for his towering speccy against St Kilda.

Doing things few others could became his calling card.

In the 2019 Anzac Day match against Collingwood, he launched a drop punt from 65m after the half-time siren to lift the entire MCG (the red and black section at least).

The following year, in the midst of the strange, COVID-19-impacted 2020 season, Daniher would be criticised for sitting on the Gabba fence behind the goals as he watched teammate Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti take a set shot.

Just months later he would ink a deal with Brisbane to make that same venue his new home. He'd wanted out of the hustle and bustle of Melbourne for a while, with many thinking he'd get to Sydney in 2019.

Living in northern New South Wales – a two-hour drive from both the Gabba and the club's Springfield training base – Daniher is happiest away from the limelight.

He has no television and simply uses an iPad to watch movies.

It's a recipe that is working, with Daniher's football flourishing at the Lions.

In almost four seasons at Brisbane, he has kicked 195 goals from 91 games, surpassing his 191 from 108 with Essendon.

His quirky nature has endeared him to both teammates and supporters.

Whether he's running around the guard of honour that greets players as they come on to the field, or listening to the song from Disney movie Frozen, "Let It Go", after he kicks a goal at the Gabba, Daniher does things his way.

And invariably, you just have to smile.

In the opening round of the 2021 season, he took a spectacular mark 15m from goal, then, still on the ground, handballed to nearby Nakia Cockatoo just as the half-time siren sounded, spurning the chance of a goal.

Bombers fans will remember a similar incident in 2018 when he took a towering grab against the Western Bulldogs close to goal, only to be followed by an errant handpass to Josh Green, who was immediately swarmed.

As recently as this week, Daniher has been labelled selfish following some poor decisions against Collingwood last Saturday where he could have passed to Charlie Cameron, rather than taking other options.

"He divides opinions, Joey, but what I do know about him is he has a good heart, and he always puts the team first," coach Chris Fagan said.

"When he makes some of those mistakes that everybody makes comment on, it usually comes from a good place and he's just trying to help the team, and every now and then he gets it wrong, as do a lot of players.

"He seems to pay a larger price for that than some.

"I try to remain even and level with him and I think he appreciates that. He's helped us win a lot of games."

Fagan's last comment is pertinent. Amidst the odd gaffe, his streaky goalkicking and unintentional comedy, Daniher's brilliance is often overlooked.

And make no mistake, he's a big-game player.

Richmond will remember his goal in the dying seconds of the 2022 elimination final – his third of the second half – that sunk its season.

He kicked five goals in a qualifying final win over Port Adelaide last year, two in the preliminary final against Carlton and then was arguably Brisbane's best player in the Grand Final loss to Collingwood.

Last week is a perfect example of his best and worst in one game.

He kicked 4.2 against the Magpies, but it's the mistakes that are highlighted. If he kicks his fifth with six minutes to go, Brisbane likely wins, and Daniher is being discussed as the match-winner in a pressure-cooker environment.

He missed – and deserved to be critiqued for it – and suddenly the negatives are outweighing the positives externally.

Perhaps no one plays sums up Daniher better than his goal against Melbourne earlier this season.

All alone 40m from goal, he drops an uncontested chest mark, trips over his own feet, gets up to kick the ball off the ground towards unmarked teammate Kai Lohmann, yet somehow the Sherrin seemingly has eyes and goes through for a goal.

As a listener of the The Roar Deal podcast summised, Daniher is a 50-50 chance to kick a goal from almost anywhere on the field, whether it be top of the goalsquare or inside the centre square.

He's brilliant, can make mistakes, is usually thinking of his teammates first, is a match-winner, and above all else, an entertainer.

Keep being you, Joe.
 

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Senior Joe Daniher (2020-)

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