When a range of celebrities and athletes take the slide at the Big Freeze at the MCG on Monday afternoon, there will be at least one firm set of eyes on the television.
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"I wouldn't miss it. I'm not a big football fan but I will be watching with bells on," Stawell's Stan Watson said.
Mr Watson has a personal connection to the cause that will be in the spotlight on Monday, battling with motor neurone disease.
Mr Watson was diagnosed in August 2016, just six days after his 60th birthday.
"My left hand wasn't playing the game, I started losing grip and noticed my arms just wouldn't do what they usually could," he said.
"I dropped my wife's crockpot taking it from inside to the garage one day, and that was the sealer. We knew I had to get to a doctor."
Mr Watson said his condition has gradually deteriorated, with the cruel disease catching up on him.
"Mine has been a slow burn but it is catching up. It has gotten to both arms and legs now. I can't walk, and can only stand up long enough to move from one chair to another," he said.
"What is important for me though is keeping that mental side going and respiratory is really important too. I get that tested every three or four months."
Despite being wheelchair bound, Mr Watson said he has found ways to keep mentally sharp.
He has decided to write a story of his life as well as research family history, giving him a chance to leave a legacy.
"I have been writing my own life story. I will not write for a while but then often have a rethink of something and go back into it," he said.
"Putting together the family tree has also been really interesting. I have a cousin overseas at the moment and we are doing some work with our families, even going back as far as the 1700s.
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"It is just something to leave to the family. What I got from my family was a whole heap of black and white photos and you look and have no idea who they are. This way I get to leave something to say there is me in black and white."
With his wife Karen, two sons and two grandchildren, with one on the way in October, Mr Watson said he has a great drive to keep fighting MND, a disease that currently has no cure.
A life member of the Stawell Amateur Athletics Club and a runner for nearly 40 years, Mr Watson said it is frustrating being limited by the disease.
"I have gone from being a fit person to pretty much being a quadriplegic. You feel a bit stupid and incapable at times," he said.
"I am not in much pain at all, the major pain is frustration."
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The FightMND campaign has been thrust into spotlight in the last few weeks, with the Big Freeze blue beanies racking up big sales for the fifth year.
Stawell has thrown its support behind the cause, with at least more than 400 sold in the town.
FightMND's profile was raised in Stawell when Daniher's Drive stopped in town last year, including the face of the campaign in Neale Daniher.
"It was brilliant. Without Neale nowhere near as much money would have been raised so it was great to see it come this way," Mr Watson said.
"I saw him in Melbourne one time but didn't want to go out of the way to meet him. But when he was in Stawell I took the chance to say hello and have a chat - it was a real highlight."
Despite his condition slowly worsening, Mr Watson said he is buoyed by the support for FightMND from the community.
"I don't get out much but will often see school kids walk past with the beanies on, or read something somewhere and it puts a smile on your face," he said.
"People just need to keep donating. A lot of people will miss out whenever a cure is found, but that's life.
"It's hard but one day, one day someone will reap the benefits of all this hard work being done now."
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