{"id":26640,"date":"2026-06-08T00:03:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T00:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/26640\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T00:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T00:03:11","slug":"live-afl-2026-collingwood-magpies-v-melbourne-demons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/26640\/","title":{"rendered":"Live AFL 2026, Collingwood Magpies v Melbourne Demons"},"content":{"rendered":"

King\u2019s Birthday coaches Craig McRae and Steven King will vote on the Neale Daniher Trophy for the player that best represents Neale\u2019s values in an \u201cenhanced process\u201d for Monday\u2019s Big Freeze match. <\/p>\n

The AFL, in consultation with the Daniher family, confirmed an update to the voting system for the annual Collingwood-Melbourne clash in a tribute to Neale, who passed away last month following a 13-year battle with motor neurone disease.<\/p>\n

The two coaches will vote 3-2-1 on the player who \u201cbest demonstrates the values Neale lived every day \u2014 bravery, resilience, unity, care, conviction and selflessness \u2014 and who best reflects his enduring mantra to \u201cPlay On\u201d.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n

Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

In the event of a tie, the Daniher family will have the deciding vote.<\/p>\n

The Neale Daniher Trophy was previously awarded to the best player on the ground, as judged by an assembled panel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted the Neale Daniher Trophy to more explicitly recognise the qualities and values that Neale lived every day,\u201d AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeale inspired millions of Australians through his courage, resilience, optimism, generosity, and unwavering commitment to others. Those values sit at the heart of the Big Freeze and the King\u2019s Birthday match, and it is fitting they are now reflected in the way the trophy is awarded.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the coaches identify the players who best embodied those qualities, and having the Daniher family present the award, will ensure the Neale Daniher Trophy remains a meaningful and lasting tribute to Neale\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solomon: “We’ve had a good week” | 09:21<\/p>\n

The Magpies (5-6-1, 99.9%) will unleash 27-year old mid-season recruit Mitch Podhajski for his AFL debut in a bid to boost their forward line, and welcome back Harry Perryman from injury as they desperately try and stay in touch with the top 1o.<\/p>\n

Melbourne (7-5, 101.8%) has regained Jake Lever from concussion protocols as Steven King\u2019s troops look to bounce back from consecutive losses.<\/p>\n

Match details: Collingwood v Melbourne from 3.15pm AEST at the MCG.<\/p>\n

Watch it live: On Fox Footy (channel 504), and streaming on Kayo, from 2pm AEST<\/p>\n

Follow Collingwood vs Melbourne in our live blog below!<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t see the blog, tap here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"King\u2019s Birthday coaches Craig McRae and Steven King will vote on the Neale Daniher Trophy for the player…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4180,23,133,531,565,527,14388,9256,13017,21274,24808,368,18692,3948,260,262,24809,9113,24811,120,504,576,24810,68,24807],"class_list":["post-26640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-melbourne","tag-andrew-dillon","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-ben-cotton","tag-chief-executive","tag-collingwood-magpies","tag-concussion-protocols","tag-consecutive-losses","tag-craig-mcrae","tag-dean-solomon","tag-enhanced-process","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-jake-lever","tag-match-details","tag-melbourne","tag-melbourne-demons","tag-mid-season-recruit","tag-motor-neurone-disease","tag-neale","tag-oceania","tag-quinn-rooney","tag-steven-king","tag-touching-tribute","tag-victoria","tag-voting-change"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}