Christopher "Chris" James Daniher (born 31 March 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). His brothers Terry, Neale and Anthony also played for Essendon in the AFL.

Chris Daniher
Personal information
Date of birth (1966-03-31) 31 March 1966 (age 58)
Place of birth West Wyalong, New South Wales
Original team(s) Ungarie (NRFNL)
Ariah Park-Mirrool (RFNL)
Coolamon (RFNL)
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 86 kg (190 lb)
Position(s) Utility
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1987–1997 Essendon 124 (40)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1997.
Career highlights

AFL

  • New South Wales representative (3 games)
  • NSW/ACT representative (1 game)

Essendon Football Club

Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life and childhood

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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 attended St Joseph's Catholic School, Ungarie 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 (NRFL) on Saturdays while playing rugby league at school carnivals. It was during his time in the NRFL that Chris won many best & fairest awards before he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in December 1984. After Chris recovered from this injury, he played for Ariah Park-Mirrool and later Coolamon in the Riverina Football League before he was approached by the Essendon Football Club to play for them in 1986.

VFL/AFL career

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From 1987 to 1997 Chris played for Essendon in the VFL/AFL, playing 124 games and playing in the 1990 and 1993 Grand Finals, the latter of which he won. He also made history alongside 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 the 1997 season that Chris retired.

Statistics

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[1]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1987 Essendon 7 2 0 1 5 8 13 5 3 0.0 0.5 2.5 4.0 6.5 2.5 1.5 0
1988 Essendon 7 2 1 0 16 6 22 8 4 0.5 0.0 8.0 3.0 11.0 4.0 2.0 0
1989 Essendon 7 3 1 2 24 7 31 9 2 0.3 0.7 8.0 2.3 10.3 3.0 0.7 0
1990 Essendon 7 5 1 0 41 24 65 11 19 0.2 0.0 8.2 4.8 13.0 2.2 3.8 0
1991 Essendon 7 9 1 2 69 79 148 15 30 0.1 0.2 7.7 8.8 16.4 1.7 3.3 0
1992 Essendon 7 19 10 5 189 148 337 85 49 0.5 0.3 9.9 7.8 17.7 4.5 2.6 3
1993 Essendon 7 15 1 3 136 118 254 64 20 0.1 0.2 9.1 7.9 16.9 4.3 1.3 0
1994 Essendon 7 12 2 1 99 62 161 54 12 0.2 0.1 8.3 5.2 13.4 4.5 1.0 0
1995 Essendon 7 21 6 10 137 103 240 69 28 0.3 0.5 6.5 4.9 11.4 3.3 1.3 0
1996 Essendon 7 19 13 6 172 108 280 85 34 0.7 0.3 9.1 5.7 14.7 4.5 1.8 1
1997 Essendon 7 17 4 4 137 103 240 62 34 0.2 0.2 8.1 6.1 14.1 3.6 2.0 3
Career 124 40 34 1025 766 1791 467 235 0.3 0.3 8.3 6.2 14.4 3.8 1.9 7

Retirement and beyond

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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 (RFL) to play for them. Chris eventually decided to play with Temora for the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

After the 1999 season, Chris decided to play with Ungarie, which would award him with NRFL premierships in 2000 and 2001, as well as four NRFL and eight Ungarie best & fairest awards.

See also

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References

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Further reading

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  • 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
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