'The best win we could ever have': Noddy's plea to help find a cure

For Brett Kimmorley and his four daughters, Beanie for Brain Cancer Round is an opportunity to celebrate the memory of his wife, Sharnie, while reflecting on the support they received from the game after her passing in 2017.

The Kimmorleys – Brett and daughters Maddi, Mia, Ava and Ivy - had their world turned upside down eight years ago when Sharnie passed away nine months after being diagnosed with brain cancer, aged 38.

At the same time, Kimmorley’s former NSW Origin team-mate Mark Hughes and the late Matt Callander, who was Head of Sport at Channel Nine, were fighting the disease and convinced the NRL to introduce the inaugural Beanie for Brain Cancer Round.

Kimmorley and his daughters were invited to the opening game in May 2017 between Cronulla and North Queensland at Sharks Stadium.

“Our eldest was 15 and the youngest was six years of age when unfortunately they did lose their mum and for us that round was a massive,” Kimmorley said.

“It was probably a celebration for my family, and probably for the Callander family too, knowing that somewhere in the future we're putting up a fight and hopefully there will be a cure.”

The Wests Tigers NRLW coach, who played 20 Tests, 10 Origins, 307 premierships matches and steered Melbourne to their first premiership in 1999, spoke at the launch of this weekend’s Beanie for Brain Cancer Round.

“We have this round every year to think about what beanies we're buying and for remembering as well, so it is such a great initiative,” Kimmorley told NRL.com.

“I just look at the growth and where it would have been if we hadn't started this round; we wouldn't have raised $35m for research and MRI machines, we would have still been in the same position we were in eight years ago.

“We hope there's success in the future and we find some cures or people getting much more chances.”

Kimmorley said the other benefit of the partnership between the Mark Hughes Foundation and the NRL was the awareness that Beanie for Brain Cancer Round created.

“The NRL is such a big product and having a whole round dedicated to Beanie for Brain Cancer creates awareness,” he said.

“If you create awareness then people start talking about it and you start opening up, and you realise there's a lot of people going through something similar, and that there is support.

“I went through a lot of challenges about why or how come, and there's things you can never get answers for, but one thing I would say to anyone who goes through this is please speak up, please ask questions, please reach out to people."

The 48-year-old said he still struggled with his daughters' milestones and wished Sharnie was there to share in those moments, but he was grateful for the support that the game has given them.

"All I know is rugby league, all my family know is rugby league. It’s given us everything," Kimmorley said. "What the league did at that time was amazing.

I am a single dad of four daughters and my oldest two daughters became adults very, very quickly, and grew up.

“I had great support and anyone who has been involved in rugby league would be blessed and honoured to know that it is a family; we care about each other and we look after each other.

“We play in a results driven business, we obviously care about wins and losses, but the best win I think we could ever have would be if Mark Hughes is able to turn around and go 'we've found a cure', so no-one has to go through this again."