NRL: Shaved heads show support for teammate

Steve Price (R) and the Warriors have stepped in to help Jesse Royal and his family. Photos / Herald on Sunday, Getty Images

The Warriors played with shaven heads yesterday as a show of support for their teammate Jesse Royal and his 3-year-old son Matarae, who has been diagnosed with cancer.

The boy has been in the Starship hospital receiving chemotherapy to arrest stage-three Birkett's lymphoma, a generally fast-growing variety of the disease that starts as a tumour in the lungs or abdomen and can progress to the spinal column.

Team captain Steve Price has been a long-term supporter of kids with cancer both here and in his homeland Australia and yesterday presented the Child Cancer Foundation with a cheque for more than $12,500 raised by sale of the type of "bucket" hat he wears which were produced to mark his 300th NRL game.

Royal, a 29-year-old ex-Army chef, did not play yesterday in the losing match against the North Queensland Cowboys, a hamstring strain given as the reason.

He and wife Kylie have another young son, Tumai.

* Kylie Royal is campaigning to raise funds for CCF; for details go to www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/kylieroyal/.

* Read Kylie Royal's blog