Christopher "Chris" James Daniher (born 31 March 1966) is a former Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played with the Essendon Football Club

Essendon Football Club

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

 in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (AFL). His brothers Terry

Terry Daniher

Terrence "Terry" John Daniher is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Melbourne and Essendon Football Clubs in the Australian Football League . Terry was also an Assistant Coach to the Essendon, Collingwood, St Kilda and Carlton Football Clubs. Terry's brothers, Neale,...

, Neale

Neale Daniher

Neale Francis Daniher is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League . Neale was also an Assistant Coach to the Essendon and Fremantle Football Clubs and the Coach of the Victorian State Team and the Melbourne Football Club...

 and Anthony

Anthony Daniher

Anthony Joseph Daniher is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Melbourne/Sydney and Essendon Football Clubs in the Australian Football League . Anthony's brothers, Terry, Neale and Chris, also played for Essendon in the AFL...

 also played for Essendon in the AFL. Chris is currently a farmer who works on his father's farm near his hometown of Ungarie

Ungarie, New South Wales

Ungarie is a town in New South Wales, Australia which is the second major town of the Bland Shire, located in the Central West region of New South Wales. It is located west of Sydney and north of Melbourne, between the towns of West Wyalong and Lake Cargelligo and is situated above sea level...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

.

Early life and childhood

Chris was born the sixth child of James "Jim" Daniher and Edna Daniher (née Erwin) on 31 March 1966 at West Wyalong Base Hospital. Chris went to St Joseph's Catholic School for his primary education before going to Ungarie Central School until year ten, after which he became a farmer.

It was during his childhood that Chris showed his love for sport, namely Australian rules football, playing in the Northern Riverina Football League

Northern Riverina Football League

The Northern Riverina Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing seven clubs in the northern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The league features four grades in the Australian rules football competition, these being seniors, under 17s,...

 (NRFL) on Saturdays while playing rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 at school carnivals. It was during his time in the NRFL that Chris won many premierships and best & fairest awards before he shattered his knee in an accident in late 1984. After Chris recovered from this injury, he played for Ariah Park

Ariah Park, New South Wales

Ariah Park is a small town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, west of Temora and south of West Wyalong. The town is within the Temora Shire near Burley Griffin Way. On Census night 2006, Ariah Park had a population of 293 people....

-Mirrool

Mirrool, New South Wales

Mirrool is a small village community at the very northern edge of the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated by road, about 16 kilometres east from Beckom and 19 kilometres west from Ariah Park...

 and later Coolamon

Coolamon, New South Wales

Coolamon is a town in the Riverina region of south-west New South Wales, Australia. Coolamon is north-west of Wagga Wagga and south-west of Sydney via the Hume and Sturt Highways. The town is situated on the railway line between Junee and Narrandera. Coolamon had a population of 1,339 at the 2006...

 in the Riverina Football League

Riverina Football League

The Riverina Football Netball League is a semi-professional Australian rules football and netball competition containing nine clubs based in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The league features three grades in the Australian rules football competition, these being seniors,...

 before he was approached by the Essendon Football Club

Essendon Football Club

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

 to play for them in 1986.

VFL/AFL career

From 1987-1997 Chris played for Essendon in the VFL/AFL, playing 124 games and playing in the 1990

1990 AFL Grand Final

The 1990 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and the Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 6 October 1990. It was the 94th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...

 and 1993

1993 AFL Grand Final

The 1993 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1993. It was the 97th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...

 Grand Finals, the latter of which he won. He also made history along with his brothers when they became the first quartet of brothers to play for the same team in a State of Origin match and in a home-and-away game. It was after Essendon's final game of the 1997 season

1997 AFL season

Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1997.The Port Adelaide Power joined the competition.The Brisbane Lions also joined the competition after the merger of the and ....

 that Chris retired.

Retirement and beyond

Shortly after retiring, Chris decided to return to Ungarie to become a farmer. After returning, Chris was approached by several clubs in the Riverina Football League

Riverina Football League

The Riverina Football Netball League is a semi-professional Australian rules football and netball competition containing nine clubs based in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The league features three grades in the Australian rules football competition, these being seniors,...

 (RFL) to play for them. Chris eventually decided to play with Temora

Temora, New South Wales

Temora is a town located in north east part of the Riverina area of New South Wales, south-west of the state capital, Sydney. At the 2006 census the population of Temora was 4,086.-History:...

 for the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

After the 1999 season, Chris decided to play for Ungarie

Ungarie Football Club

The Ungarie Football Netball Club is an Australian rules football and netball club that plays in the Northern Riverina Football Netball League...

, which would award him with NRFL premierships in 2000 and 2001, as well as four NRFL and eight Ungarie best & fairest awards.

Further reading

• Daniher, Terry Daniher, Neale Daniher, Anthony Daniher and Chris Daniher. The Danihers: The Story of Football's Favourite Family. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2009. ISBN 1-74175-651-0

External links