Bryan Cousins reveals MND diagnosis in Perth

Bryan Cousins revealed he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease during an emotional interview at Swan Districts Football Club in Perth. The 72-year-old was reduced to tears as he spoke to supporters and described the moment he received the diagnosis he did not want.

He said he first noticed something was wrong while running along the beach. “I was running along the beach and starting to struggle — a bloke stopped me and asked me if I was OK,” he said, before later telling supporters: “I went to a neurologist and I started looking at what I might have and I got the one thing I didn’t want which was MND.”

Swan Districts Football Club in Perth

The interview was hosted by club patron and distinguished cancer researcher Professor Bruce Robinson. Cousins struggled to find his words at times as he spoke publicly about the diagnosis, turning a private health battle into a public disclosure in front of the club community.

He said his family was at the front of his mind when he got the news. “I got teary, mainly because I thought — how am I going to tell the kids?” he said. Cousins added that he texted his children on a Saturday and asked them to come round home on Sunday, and that they had “a big hug and a cuddle and we discussed MND.”

Neale Daniher's example

Cousins linked his decision to speak out to the example set by Neale Daniher. “The way he approached it and his courage and his attitude, one word kept coming to my mind. He’s a fighter and continued to fight till the day he died,” he said.

He also said he remains independent, even as the illness progresses. “I’m getting along, I’m still independent but I’m looking at everything that Neale said and every six months is worse than the previous and you notice the little things in life,” he said. Cousins said he believes a cure will be found because of the work being done, and noted that Daniher had raised about $140m.

Cousins' football record

The diagnosis lands on a figure with a long West Australian football record behind him. Cousins won the Sandover Medal in 1983, played 238 games for Perth in the WAFL and 67 games for Geelong in the VFL.

He also recalled a lighter family moment that came after the diagnosis. One of his granddaughters asked: “pop when you get in the wheelchair can I go for a ride?”