Manning Valley family turned league into a lifeline for cancer patients
Tanya and Gary Bridge with members of Can Assist Manning Valley, and Can Assist NSW outgoing executive officer, Emma Phillips at Club Taree for presentation of the Colvin Community Award. Picture by Julia Driscoll
It’s every parent’s worst fear – losing a child, no matter what their age.
Gary and Tanya Bridge had to face that nightmare when their daughter, Kristylea, lost her life to medulloblastoma, an aggressive and rare cancer, in 2013. She died only nine months after diagnosis, aged 26.
“As you can imagine we were completely heartbroken when Kristy passed, and the months leading up to her death were extremely difficult on all of us,” Kristylea’s brother, Todd, said in 2014.
When he said that, less than one year before the first anniversary of Kristylea’s death, the family was already working on creating a legacy in her name, even though they didn’t know that the legacy would grow the way it has.
In 2014, the inaugural Kristylea Bridge Charity Cup, a rugby league match between the Taree City Bulls (now Panthers) and the Wingham Tigers, to raise money for Can Assist Manning Valley.
Can Assist is a NSW charity which aims to help ease the financial burden of cancer patients in country NSW. Money raised at a branch level stays in the local community, helping local cancer patients.
“Organisations like Can Assist really make a difference to those who need it most in what is often the worst time of their life. We hope the games can generate some real support for the charity,” Todd said.
Going on 11 years, the Kristylea Bridge Charity Cup is a big event in the Group 3 rugby league calendar. To date, the charity day has raised in excess of $286,000.
Colvin Community Award
On Monday, February 9, 2026, Gary and Tanya were presented with an inaugural Colvin Community Award by Can Assist NSW’s outgoing executive director, Emma Phillips, and Can Assist Manning Valley.
“Can Assist celebrated our 70th year last year, and, in doing that we wanted to recognise those we call the quiet achievers in our communities,” Emma said.
Local branches of Can Assist nominated the awardees, and only four are being given out throughout NSW.
“This is an acknowledgement of – not so much the people on the committees that are doing the work that Can Assist does, but the volunteers in our local communities that are helping us do what we do,” said Can Assist Manning Valley treasurer Leanne Newman.
“And Gary was just a no-brainer. He will say it’s not just him, it’s a team effort – he, his wife Tanya, the whole Bridge family, and the Taree City Bulls all come together and do these events. And they finish each year, then they start planning next year. It’s a really big event.”
Gary was a former player for the Balmain Tigers and Eastern Suburbs, and he draws on his contacts in the rugby league world who are only too willing to donate big items for charity auctions.
“It probably helps being in the SportsPower industry, too – I’ve met a lot of people over the years that could supply merchandise for me to auction off and half on everything, so that’s been a great help as well”, Gary said.
e has a long association with the Taree club as a former player, and he also played for the Tigers. His son, Todd also played for Taree, while Gary’s nephew has played for the Tigers.
“The local support we get from the community in Taree and Wingham, it’s incredible, and that’s community support and spirit,” Gary said.
“It’s mind boggling, the the money that we’ve raised in a little country town.”
The Kristylea Bridge Charity Cup now also encompasses a race day with the support of the Manning Valley Race Club.
The next Kristylea Bridge Charity Cup match day will be in early August, 2026.
