DANIHER, Joe

Joe Daniher is the most recent member of the famous Daniher family to play for Essendon. He is the son of a former AFL full-back, Anthony Daniher, who played 115 games for the Sydney Swans and 118 games for Essendon. His uncles, Anthony's brothers, Terry, Neale and Chris also played for the Bombers. Between them the Danihers have notched up 732 games, 728 goals and three Crichton Medals.

Daniher played for the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup. He was named an All-Australian in the AFL Under-18 Championships, playing for Vic Metro. Daniher was part of the AFL Academy at the Australian Institute of Sport, participating in its European tour to Italy, England and France in 2012 competing against the combined European Legion team.

He was drafted by Essendon under the father–son rule, with the tenth overall selection in the 2012 national draft. He was also eligible to be drafted by Sydney, but chose to join the Bombers, where his brother Darcy Daniher was a team member at the time. He made his debut against Carlton in Round 11, 2013.  In his second game (Round 12 against Gold Coast), he was named among the best players, kicking his first AFL goal and scoring a total of three goals in the match.

He showed positive progression in his second season, leading the club in goal-kicking with 28 for the season, including four goals against North Melbourne in an elimination final at the MCG, and being named Essendon's 2014 Rising Star. Despite his skinny frame and inaccurate kicking for goal, he showed immense promise and started to stake his claim as one of the best young key forwards in the league.

Daniher entered the 2015 AFL season as the club's spearhead up forward, a challenging task considering it was only his third season of senior football. Despite kicking only 34 goals for the season, Daniher showed improvement in many key areas of his game, especially accuracy in shooting for goal. That was partly due to the fact that former player and Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd helped him throughout the year. He led the club's goalkicking for a second consecutive season and showed more presence on the field.

In 2016, he continued to grow as a footballer and leader, being named in the club's leadership group and finishing the season with a career-high in marks (141) and goals (43). He won the club goalkicking award for a third consecutive year and was joint runner-up with James Kelly in the W.S. Crichton Medal.

He started the 2017 AFL season strongly, reaching his potential as one of the best forwards in the League, and winning both the Anzac Day Medal and the inaugural Tom Wills Medal in the Country Game against Geelong. He finished as the club's leading goalkicker for a fourth straight season, received his debut All-Australian Team selection, and won the W. S. Crichton Medal.

Daniher started the 2018 AFL season in substantially worse form than in the previous year, averaging less than a goal a game and having an reduced impact on the competition. After Round 7, scans revealed the early onset of osteitis pubis, causing him to miss the rest of the season.

After a strong pre-season, Daniher looked set for a big 2019 season, but a mysterious calf injury, sustained in training, meant he missed the first four rounds of the 2019 AFL season. Despite not being named for Round 5, Daniher was given a late call-up for the Bombers in the Round 5 game against the Kangaroos on Good Friday. Because Daniher was not named on Essendon's initial list for the round, the Bombers incurred a fine, but Daniher proved his worth by kicking two goals, including one from over 55 metres out. After four matches, he was ruled out for the remainder of 2019 due to a groin injury. Toward the conclusion of the season, he requested a trade to Sydney but, because Sydney could not satisfy Essendon's trade request, Daniher remained at Essendon for the 2020 season. After the 2020 season, exercising his rights as a free agent, he moved to the Brisbane Lions.

In his four seasons at the Lions Daniher played 96 games and kicked 204 goals. He also played in two Grand Finals, losing in 2023 and winning in 2024.

Just five days after winning the premiership, on 3 October 2024, Daniher announced his retirement.

Draft history:  #10 (Father-son selection) (2012 National Draft)

Brisbane premiership player: 2024

Career Brownlow Medal votes: 20 (with Essendon), 24 (with Brisbane).