Broncos’ NRLW jerseys to show support to Toni Hunt and Lavinia Gould during their tragic personal battles
The Broncos will wear Toni Hunt and Lavinia Gould on their hearts for the rest of the NRLW season as the two players deal with personal tragedies.
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Brisbane’s NRLW players will wear the initials of Toni Hunt and Lavinia Gould on their jerseys for the rest of season in a sign of support for their teammates.
After news broke on Wednesday of the dual tragedies surrounding the popular pair, they have been inundated with support from fans, the NRL and the Broncos.
As well as offering financial and emotional support initially, the club is devising creative ways to raise money to support Hunt and her family as she undergoes chemotherapy after cancer reappeared less than two years after she was first diagnosed.
The same goes for Gould, who has been privately dealing with her gravely sick daughter Kaia who remains in intensive care in hospital after undergoing lifesaving emergency heart surgery.
Embroidery on the jerseys are the first in a range of initiatives to help support the pair.
The initials of the players inside a heart is being etched into the jerseys on Thursday, and the Broncos will wear them for the rest of the NRLW season starting with Saturday’s clash with Wests Tigers in Newcastle.
“It will be special for the girls taking that field knowing they’re on our heart,” said coach Scott Prince.
The news of the dual heartbreaks has rocked the club over the past week, but once it became public on Wednesday the rugby league family has swarmed in support.
“The team has been great and the club has been awesome with her,” he continued.
“We’re a tight knit bunch and we all stick together.
“The club is rallying around Toni and making sure that it will be an ongoing thing with her, and we’ll be all in with Toni and her family.
“Lavinia has her own battles with her daughter and that’s been ongoing, but it’s taken a crazy turn in recent times.
“The club has been very supportive of her in terms of emotional support and financially as well.”
The NRL has pledged financial support on top of that already provided by the Broncos, and is working on fundraising ideas over the coming weeks.
NRL and club sponsors have also responded with plans to donate, even privately.
Both women have GoFundMe accounts set up to accept donations as well.
On the field, the Broncos have two games to play before the NRLW finals and need to win both games to assure they make the top four.
Gould and Hunt are their driving inspiration.
“The team is a very supportive bunch and a tight knit group,” Prince said.
“If it’s something to galvanise a group outside of their own goals and team goals, it’s these two lovely ladies.”
It’s his job now to make sure it’s not a distraction for the side.
“It’s like anything, when you have trauma in life, whether it’s with your own family or a sporting family, it’s tragic and it’s an emotional moment … but ultimately at the end of the day, Toni said it herself, she didn’t want to interfere with the team and their preparation but the one thing she wants is for her team to be successful and that just shows her character.
“The only way we can repay her is to play to our potential and win footy games.
“(Contact with Gould and Hunt) is constant, the girls are really supportive, the coaching staff and the footy club has been really supportive of Toni so we’re going to be with her every step of the way.
“It’s not a short term, it’s a long-term process so we’ll be there when she needs us most.
“With all due respect, there’s a privacy element to it too, we want her and her family to remain private to it as well, and for us, we’re there to support her and we have a job to do and that’s to play football.”
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Originally published as Broncos’ NRLW jerseys to show support to Toni Hunt and Lavinia Gould during their tragic personal battles
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