Former Essendon champion and Melbourne grand final coach Neale Daniher will visit Bendigo as part of a four-day road trip named in his honour, to raise research funds and awareness of a disease which affects more than 2000 Australians.

Daniher's Drive will include overnight stops and fundraisers in Warrnambool, Bendigo and Albury, before a grand finish in Melbourne on Saturday.

All funds raised will go to the MND Foundation.

Daniher, 54, will be in Bendigo on Thursday to drum up support for this month’s Daniher’s Drive.

He will travel in a car covered in Daniher’s Drive stickers.

A sportsmen's night planned for Friday, October 16, at the All Seasons Hotel Bendigo is already sold out.

It will feature former Melbourne champion Garry Lyon, his Footy Show colleague Billy Brownless and Channel 7's Brian Taylor, with special guests former North Melbourne premiership star and Australian lamb ambassador Sam Kekovich and current AFL stars.

A public event that afternoon at the QEO from 4.30pm-6pm will see 10 former AFL stars go head-to-head with country league players in a David v Goliath goal kicking contest.

The former AFL stars will be spearheaded by former Melbourne sharpshooter David Neitz.

AFL Central Victoria general manager Paul Hamilton - a former teammate of Daniher's – encouraged families to get involved on the day.

Entry is by gold coin donation.

Daniher, 54, was diagnosed with MND in 2013 and has since dedicated his life to educating Australians about the illness and doing what he can to find a cure.

The footy legend's plight triggered a hugely successful Big Freeze, which saw former greats and media personalities throw themselves into a 12,000-litre pool of icy water during the Demons' June 8 game against Collingwood at the MCG.

The event raised $2.5 million for the MND Foundation.

Last month, the state government contributed $150,000 to the Daniher's Drive initiative.

Daniher played 82 games during 12 injury-riddled seasons for Essendon between 1979 and 1990.

He later coached Melbourne for 223 games between 1998 and 2007, including their last grand final appearance in 2000.

Daniher also served as the West Coast Eagles general manager from 2008-2013, stepping down after his MND diagnosis.