Joe Daniher’s Rising Star nomination is a result of dedication and hard work according to his father, and former Essendon great, Anthony Daniher.

“He’s really been chipping away at his game, and it’s just terrific,” Anthony said.

“A good reward for a lot of hard work.”

Joe’s second season with the Bombers has seen him take considerable steps forward to what looks like a sustained successful career for the club.

His father, Anthony said he only does very simple things to assist Joe to perform each week.

“My role is to just support him at home; make sure the house is warm, the food is in the fridge and that we’ve got a nice environment,” he said.

“We create a nice little safe haven for Joe when he comes home, so he can have a little break from the footy world.”

Yet, Anthony credited both Joe and the Essendon Football Club for his improvement this season.

“He’s very self managed, and the environment at Bomberland is terrific,” he said.

Anthony also admitted he is very relaxed during games and lets Joe do all the work.

“I go along and enjoy the footy,” he said. 

“I don’t get too worried, because that’s just not healthy.”

“He prepares well, so I just like to watch him compete and watch the boys compete.”

“I enjoy the contest and he takes care of the rest.”

Joe credits his father for being an important figure in his life, although admits that he didn’t always see eye-to-eye with him when it came to playing football.

“Dad’s been a massive help for me in my life, but when it comes to football I was always pretty stubborn growing up and didn’t want to listen to my dad,” Joe said.

“And at times it probably wasn’t the right idea, but dad was really good in taking a step back and letting me learnt things slowly and learning them the way I wanted to learn them.”

Joe will look to emulate his NAB Rising Star performance as the Bombers tackle Melbourne this Sunday at the MCG.

“Their young midfield is looking pretty damaging, so they’re going to be a tough opponent for us,” he said.

“We know we’re going to have a challenge on the weekend, and we’re looking forward to it.”