Dean Evans' father, Bruce, is his hero.

Ever since the Baradine product was a child, he's always looked up to his dad - whether it be in the context of footy or life in general.

And even when his father came face-to-face with his own mortality this year, Evans was awed by how selflessly he handled the news.

"Dad put on the bravest face I'd ever seen," Evans said in the days after his diagnosis with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer which affects plasma cells in bone marrow.

"For as tough as he was, he held strong when we were all sad and upset. He said to me, 'Mate, I'll be fine. I've got to keep showing up for you guys, you're all depending on me'."

The 28-year-old was in the midst of his first year with the Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters when he found out about his father's diag

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