Matt Callander, was an Executive Producer of the NRL and the Footy Show at Channel 9 for many years and a friend of MHF. He lost his battle with brain cancer in October 2017 after being diagnosed with an aggressive Stage 4 Glioblastoma Multi-form (GBM) brain tumour 18 months prior.
Following his diagnosis, Matt could be forgiven if he just sat around feeling sorry for himself - but he didn’t. He decided to raise awareness about brain cancer's shocking statistics and lack of funding for research into the disease by introducing the NRL Beanie Round. With the support of his family, the NRL, Channel Nine, The Footy Show, Fox Sports and thousands of Matt's friends, colleagues and supporters - the inaugural NRL Beanie for Brain Cancer Round raised an astonishing $2.3 million.
The NRL Beanie Round was Matt’s ‘brainchild' and it continues to grow with beanies sold around the grounds and raising around $3million each year!
We are privileged to continue Matt's legacy with the amazing help of his family whom we can proudly call MHF Ambassadors.
Look out for the Callander family in the media as part of the MHF 'Beanieficiary’ campaign. We thank Anne, Madison, Indiana, Digger and Archie for giving us their precious time and energy so generously and continuing Matt's legacy. Find out more about the NRL Beanie Round here. Read Madison's story about her dad here.