Rugby league players are modern-day heroes to many children and adults and they brighten the lives and lift the spirits of so many people especially those who are sick and in need of a boost.
Today, I’d like to tell you about two Panthers supporters whose lives were taken too soon, one a little eight-year-old boy called Tommy and his grandfather Stanley.
Little Tommy was born in February 2016 and supported the Penrith Panthers from the day he was born. With his grandfather Stanley being a crazy Panthers supporter his whole life, Tommy had no choice.
One of Tommy’s mums Amanda Adams-Bennett remembers Tommy playing football in the backyard with his older brother Lachie whilst growing up.
“One was usually Nathan Cleary and the other Brian To’o,” said Amanda.
“Tommy’s first ever shirt has Cleary’s name printed on the back.”
Along with his grandfather Stanley, who wore a Panthers shirt nearly every day, the Adams-Bennett family were enjoying the top year their favourite team were having until their whole world changed.
“On September 12 2023 Tommy was diagnosed with DIPG,” recalls Amanda.
“DIPG / DMG is a rare cancer with limited funding compared to other cancers, they call it ‘rare’ in our country as it affects around 25 children a year.
“It’s a cancer that has no real treatments, no option for surgery to try and remove part or all of the tumour due to the significant risks involved and there’s no cure.”
The whole Penrith community got behind Tommy and when word reached the Panthers club, a special visit was organised to see little Tommy. Despite being on steroid treatment at the time, the smile could not be wiped from Tommy’s face.
That day he met his hero Nathan Cleary and several other Panthers players including Luke Garner, Mavrik Geyer and Sunia Turuva. He was excited the whole day that he got to meet his heroes in person.
For nearly a year Tommy underwent a variety of treatments and procedures before the DIPG brain tumour finally took his life.
“Tommy fought for 10 months, never really complained, and took everything in his stride, despite the cancer stealing so much from him,” said Amanda.
Tragically at Tommy’s funeral, less than two weeks later, Tommy’s grandfather Stan suddenly collapsed.
“Despite the best efforts of everyone there, my dad died of a sudden cardiac arrest,” remembers Amanda.
But only after he said goodbye to his beloved grandson.
“My dad, Stanley Adams, had been a crazy Panthers supporter for over 50 years, so much so, that using the Panthers colours was a prerequisite for his funeral notice.”
It’s amazing how a sport and a rugby league team can bring so such joy to its supporters even in the toughest moments in life.
To little Tommy and his grandfather Stan, the Penrith Panthers were their heroes but if you ask me the real heroes are boys like Tommy.
Let’s also not forget the other real heroes in all of this. Tommy’s amazing parents, Amanda and Danielle and their other son Lachie.
One gets the feeling that every time the Panthers run out onto the field, there are two very special supporters, angels named Tommy and Stan, always watching and cheering them on from above.
Please support RunDIPG at https://rundipg.org or phone 0456 385 903.
Peter Lang
Peter Lang is an experienced sports writer, who has been covering rugby league for several decades. He first wrote Lang on League for the Weekender in the 1990s, and worked for Panthers on its famous Panthers Magazine for several years.