West Australian football icon Bryan Cousins has revealed he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND) a year ago.

The father of West Coast champion and Brownlow Medallist Ben Cousins, Bryan revealed he had been battling the disease for the past 12 months privately.

The 72-year-old played 240 games for Perth in the WAFL across the 1970s and 1980s, before finishing his career with 67 games for Geelong in the VFL. Ben Cousins poses with his father Bryan Cousins after winning the 2005 Brownlow Medal.

Ben Cousins poses with his father Bryan Cousins after winning the 2005 Brownlow Medal. Getty

Bryan struggled through tears as he publicly revealed his plight on Saturday, during an MND fundraiser event at a Swans Districts Football Club event.

“I was running along the beach and starting to struggle … A bloke stopped me and asked me if I was OK,” Bryan said.

“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.”

The news comes just a week after the death of Neale Daniher, who had been fighting the disease for 13 years.

His FightMND campaign has helped raise millions for the awareness and study of the uncurable disease.

Every AFL game this weekend has paid tribute to Daniher with a minute’s silence.

“The way (Neale) 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,” Bryan said.

“He’s an amazing individual and whether you’re connected to MND, he is an inspiration to how you face up to adversity. Bryan Cousins watches his son train in 2010.

Bryan Cousins in 2010.  Getty

“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.

“But, because of all the amazing things that people are doing I do believe we will find a cure.”

MND has also made news in the NRL, with star player Jai Arrow forced to retire at just 30 with his own diagnosis.

Cousins’ 240 games for Perth allowed his son Ben to qualify as a father-son for West Coast, where he would go on to play in the 2006 premiership.

“That’s where I learnt to love the game, watching dad,” Ben said at the same function.

“He was my hero growing up and in many ways he still is.”