First community slider

From a backyard pool filled with bags of ice to being the first down the Big Freeze slide at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Josh Saunders is honouring a loud legacy to fight motor neurone disease (MND).

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The Ballarat-born general practitioner will become the first community fundraiser in history to open the iconic Big Freeze slide at the MCG on June 8.

Monday's event will also be the first Big Freeze held since the death of AFL legend and FightMND co-founder Neale Daniher late last month.

FightMND has announced Ballarat local Dr Josh Saunders as the inaugural Community Slider for Big Freeze 12. Picture by Lachlan Bence

'A silent fight'

MND attacks the nerves that communicate between the brain and your muscles, preventing basic motor function like moving, talking, laughing, swallowing, and breathing.

A diagnosis of MND carries a life expectancy of about 27 months, with some defying the odds and others succumbing earlier.

For Dr Saunders, it's "deeply personal", with the disease running in the family.

"I have to throw everything at this. I can't not," he said.

"If it's an anchor for somebody to then share a story or listen or engage with the cause, I will do anything for it."

Beyond raising funds, the core of the Big Freeze is about starting a national conversation around an issue affecting thousands of Australians.

"This fight started well before the MCG, and it started in the quiet of doctors' rooms. And it was a silent fight. I understand that quiet. I've been there," Dr Saunders said.

"Neale Daniher has done such a phenomenal job at raising the visibility of the silence and what it does to people and what it takes from people. He built a community out of that.

"Once people are connected to it, then it's easy. But it takes work and it takes staying connected."

First community slider

Selected from a pool of more than 220 grassroots fundraisers across Australia, the GP from Creswick's Ochre Medical Centre said he was immensely privileged and excited to be a part of the fight.

While traditionally featuring a line-up of celebrity sliders, the 2026 Big Freeze will highlight the grassroot community quietly fighting the disease.

His wife and children have been raising funds for the cause since 2023, from running marathons dressed as bees to backyard ice bucket challenges and humble lemonade stands.

"People would just come up while I was running, scan the QR code, and have a chat," Dr Saunders said.

"What we try to do with fundraisers is just to connect with people and to the cause, and try to keep them engaged throughout the year."

His wife's uncle created his own mission called Bumble Bee for MND, where they drive around in a bright yellow 1977 Holden HX panel van, travelling to classic car shows across the country to open up difficult health conversations outside of standard sporting environments.

Dr Saunders will be the first grassroots fundraiser to take part in the iconic MCG slide. Picture by Lachlan Bence

The family's direct efforts have raised more than $12,000, while the broader Bumble Bee for MND initiative has generated over $100,000 since 2023. Every dollar goes straight to FightMND to fund care, support, and clinical research.

As a GP, Dr Saunders said his medical background gave him a direct, clinical perspective on the illness and those fighting the disease, alongside an insider perspective into the importance of raising awareness and funds for treatment.

"I can get a sense of what this funding is doing and where the incremental change is coming - because it is," he said.

"The fighting of MND is going to be won in a million different battles. And it's going to be hard work, and it's going to be bit by bit, but things are developing."

Honouring a loud legend

This year's event carries an emotional weight as the first Big Freeze held since the death of AFL legend and FightMND co-founder Neale.

Daniher battled MND for 13 years, raising more than $100 million in the battle he dubbed 'beat the beast'.

The 65-year-old AFL legend died on May 25, 2026, just weeks before his annual FightMND match at the MCG.

AFL legend Neale Daniher spoke to The Courier in 2017 about raising awareness for motor neurone disease in Ballarat. Picture by Lachlan Bence

Speaking to The Courier in 2017, Neale said the Big Freeze had always been about making MND a loud conversation.

"A big part of what we do is awareness. We can't ask people to support our cause if they don't know about it," Mr Daniher said at the time.

"Motor neurone disease isn't as rare as people think. There's not many people alive with MND because it's a killer... It's a beast of a disease and we need to find an effective treatment and cure."

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