Official Johnny Mannah

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Jonathon Mannah

Eels prop Tim Mannah hoping brother John will be at the ground on ...Courier MailCronulla forward John will go into hospital today for his latest round of chemotherapy and is in danger of missing his brother's big day. ...and more »

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/nrl/story/0,26746,26149806-5003409,00.html&usg=AFQjCNEu8FAnBeePn9OmPXJG4nxed9CG_A

Eels prop Tim Mannah hoping brother John will be at the ground on Sunday
By James Phelps
October 01, 2009 12:00am

ROOKIE Eels prop Tim Mannah will dedicate his first Grand Final to his brother John, who was diagnosed with cancer last month.

Cronulla forward John will go into hospital today for his latest round of chemotherapy and is in danger of missing his brother's big day.

"He usually takes three or four days to recover after chemo," Tim said.

"He gets pretty sick afterwards so I am hoping he will be OK to come on Sunday because I would really love to have him there. He has got a ticket with his name on it and fingers crossed he will be right."

And showing the humour is alive and well in the Mannah household, Tim has a surprise for for his little brother come Grand Final day.

"Yeah, I'm going to make sure he wears blue and gold if he comes," Mannah said.

"He will love it. He was at the game last week so hopefully he will be right to come along and cheer for Parra."

Mannah said John is in good spirits and doing well.

"He still looks great. He has one of those bodies where he still looks good even when he doesn't train," Tim said.

"His body seems to be reacting well. He has six more (chemo sessions) to go so hopefully by Christmas he will be sweet. There are a lot of people I will be trying to win this game for and obviously I want to do well for Johnny because he has been crook and obviously hasn't been playing."

STILL on Mannah, the 107kg destroyer has revealed the lighter side to one of his heaviest teammates. "Fuifui Moimoi is the biggest joker around here," Mannah said

"He is always playing jokes on everyone. He might act all shy around the media but he isn't one bit. And he loves a phone prank.

"I have told the young blokes to never ask him what time training is because he will give you the wrong time. Earlier in the year he got me.

"I ended up rocking up to training thinking I was early but I was half an hour late and the coach wasn't too happy at all.

"But that is just Fui."
 

fitz

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Great to hear Johnny is doing well and that he has heaps of positive support around him. It’s pretty true that laughter is the best medicine... well, at least heaps of laughter is the best way of coping with chemotherapy.

I hope Johnny is able to get out to the Grand Final to cheer his brother Tim along. It would be a pretty cold heart that wouldn’t turn a blind eye to him putting on Parramatta supporter’s gear for the day.

On a different point, I love the way players have to call each other up to find out what time training is on. Surely you’d think they would have a printed out roster or something like that – maybe even a mobile network system or organizer. It’d be pretty rough to cop a fine for being late for training when you’ve got someone else who has mistakenly or deliberately given you the wrong information.
 

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Jonathon Mannah

As Tim Mannah faces the game of his life, brave Jon will cheer him onCourier MailThe rookie Cronulla forward who moved from Parramatta to the Shire in search of an opportunity last November made his NRL debut in April and went on to star ...

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26161761-5003409,00.html&usg=AFQjCNEMobkc7cI7CfrfnnTFgjXbMALPTA

As Tim Mannah faces the game of his life, brave Jon will cheer him on
By James Hooper
October 04, 2009 12:01am

AMONG the glazed eyes and adrenalin in the Parramatta dressing-room around 3pm today, rookie prop Tim Mannah will find inspiration in a silent prayer for his younger sibling, Jon.

A world away from the biggest game of his life, Tim Mannah will pause and reflect about the dark hours when the chemotherapy hits and the headaches start and the nausea sets in - and he will say thank you.

Thank you for giving Jon the strength to fight Hodgkin's lymphoma with such a determined, positive attitude.

Thank you to the doctors at St Vincent's Hospital, who delayed Jon's third round of chemotherapy so he could cheer his brother towards a premiership ring from the ANZ Stadium grandstand today, along with his other two brothers, Danny and Jamil.

And, finally, thank you for allowing the Eels to make the journey from wooden-spoon contenders in May to the grand final.

"Seeing Jonny go through that and seeing how much he loves his footy, how much he'd love to be out there playing footy, makes you feel grateful that you've got a healthy body,'' Tim said.

"Not only that you can play sport, but you can be active. It does put things in perspective.''

Jon has had his own battle to make it to the grand final.

"After Parramatta made it through I was a bit worried because I had a treatment scheduled for Thursday,'' Jon said. "But I spoke to my doctor and he and I both agreed on a decision to wait for a week so that I can enjoy this time and the game."

"I try to avoid crowded places because of the risk of infection, but I'll make an exception for the grand final.''

The fight inside Jon will perhaps serve as Tim's greatest strength when he takes on the Storm. They are from a tight-knit, deeply religious family, where Danny and Tim share one room and Jon and Jamil share another.

Diagnosed with cancer 44 days ago, Jon's beaming smile and broad shoulders defy the pain of self-injecting needles to maintain his immune system and increase his white blood cell count.

The telephone at the Mannahs' Condell Park residence has been ringing off the hook since August 28. And the question has been just how is Jon handling his cancer?

"My family, my friends and the amount of support I've got, it's been like everyone is sort of carrying this illness with me. It makes it so much easier. The doctors found it early and got on to it straight away,'' Jon said.

"Of course, there's the rough patches where you get home from treatment and you don't want to see anyone. You're in pain, you've got headaches, food is not appealing. But that's all to be expected. They explained all that to me."

"Anyone that's been through it will know what I'm talking about. It's just not a good feeling. It's nausea, it's pain, you feel very sick.''

The rookie Cronulla forward who moved from Parramatta to the Shire in search of an opportunity last November made his NRL debut in April and went on to star in 12 games.

By July, he had a cracked vertebrae in his back and when the injury showed no signs of healing, Sharks doctor Dave Givney sounded the alarm.

A trip to Australia's leading spinal surgeon, Richard Parkinson, highlighted a couple of "hot spots''.

Further tests on bone marrow confirmed Mannah had Hodgkin's lymphoma, the same illness Delta Goodrem beat in 2003.

While Sharks coach Ricky Stuart and chief executive Richard Fisk have given Mannah unconditional time off to fight the illness, he has a goal to be back playing next year.

"When the doctor diagnosed me, he encouraged me to set a goal for next year. So my goal is that I'll be playing in the NRL again,'' Mannah said. "I'm not sure about round one, but I'd love to be back out there."

"I've got my last bout of chemo scheduled just before Christmas. I haven't actually posed that question to the doc about when I can return to training, but he said to me that it was a reasonable goal to be playing next year.''

Since that day in August, Mannah has been reading Lance Armstrong's book, "It's Not About the Bike''.

"After my first treatment I was reading exactly what I was going through, which kind of helped,'' Mannah said. "I put things in perspective about how many people have cancer and how seriously it affects people."

"I'm quite lucky I don't have it as bad as others. It made me realise that once I get through this, I definitely want to help people going through the same thing.''

After chemotherapy, Mannah has lost up to 7kg, but then on the off-weeks, when he is not scheduled for treatment, the Sharks forward feels completely normal.

It's those days when Mannah will find a quiet place in his room, turn to his Bible and pray.

"There's times when I wonder if there is actually anything wrong with me. It's times like that when I've really got to practise my faith in God and the doctors he's placed in my care,'' he said.

"That's when I really dig deep and have faith in God. During the days after chemo I lose my appetite and my taste buds go all funny."

"I do lose a few kilos. The most I've lost so far is seven kilograms. But then when I get my appetite back I put it back on when I start to feel better.''

Before he travels to Homebush today, Mannah will find a quiet corner in the bedroom and talk to God. He will ask for recovery, for strength and, of course, for Tim to win a grand final.

"Yeah for sure. I've been praying for my recovery and praying for my attitude to stay the way that it is,'' he said. ``I've been praying that if I can influence anyone that it is in a positive way."

"If I can glorify God through what I'm going through, then that's pretty much the reason he put me through what I'm going through.''
 

Ramzyv1

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Jon Mannah- Whats going on?

There have been multiple mentions of Mannah in numerous threads but I just wanted to ask everyone straight out... does anyone know what the latest is?

He has been named in a 26 man squad which I can only assume is 26 instead of 25 because of his situation and he has been missing from photos and stories.

I am asking this both for selfish reasons as he is a good player and we need him but more importantly for his sake. Is he getting any better, is he undergoing treatment?

Any info on this would be much appreciated.
 

Garbs

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I only know some very raw facts:

He is undergoing treatment.

He is not expected to play this season.

No idea how the treatment is coming along, his form of cancer has a high recovery rate but that by no means is to suggest that it's not serious. It's a life threatening condition. Football should be the last thing we're thinking about when it comes to Jonny Mannah at present.
 

ABshark

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Me too. Wasn't he meant to be back in training after Christmas?
 

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The Mannah family has specifically requested that people respect their privacy whilst Jonny is undergoing treatment.

Ultimately, we should all respect their wishes, as I'm sure the Club is doing.

No doubt the Club will make an official statement when it is appropriate to do so.

In the meantime, I'm sure I speak on behalf of all here and the wider Sharks community in wishing Jonny the speediest of recoveries and hope to see him in the black, white and blue as soon as he is ready.
 

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The Mannah family has specifically requested that people respect their privacy whilst Jonny is undergoing treatment.

Ultimately, we should all respect their wishes, as I'm sure the Club is doing.

No doubt the Club will make an official statement when it is appropriate to do so.

In the meantime, I'm sure I speak on behalf of all here and the wider Sharks community in wishing Jonny the speediest of recoveries and hope to see him in the black, white and blue as soon as he is ready.

Well said Fitz, and get well soon Jonny.

As to the whereabouts of other forwards from last season, does anyone know if Selmes, Donnelly or Afamasaga have found new clubs yet? And has Tony Caine officially retired from all footy?
 

hitman124

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All I know is Jonny is constantly in my thoughts, he should take all the time out he needs and I hope the club is really supportive of him.
 
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In the meantime, I'm sure I speak on behalf of all here and the wider Sharks community in wishing Jonny the speediest of recoveries and hope to see him in the black, white and blue as soon as he is ready.

+2
 

Garbs

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Me too. Wasn't he meant to be back in training after Christmas?

Given that he has a potentially life-threatening form of cancer, I think expecting him back after Christmas would be highly optimistic. His first priority at the moment would simply be beating the disease.
 

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Given that he has a potentially life-threatening form of cancer, I think expecting him back after Christmas would be highly optimistic. His first priority at the moment would simply be beating the disease.

Tell me Garbs, are there many forms of cancer that aren't potentially life-threatening? Fortunately, this form has a low mortality rate and they discovered it early thanks to his back injury, making his chances of a good recovery significantly higher.

I was just mentioning what I recalled as an estimate of his situation from a while back. Of course his main priority should be recovering, I'm sure it is. As fitz said, our thoughts are with him and his family and we hope to see him running out for us as soon as he can, because that would mean he's made a full recovery.
 

Garbs

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Sorry mate, didn't mean to have a dig at you, I've just been slightly overwhelmed by the number of people - online and out in the real world - who just don't quite seem to grasp the gravity of Jonny's situation. While it's true that his form of cancer has an excellent rate of recovery, he'd still need to get through rounds of chemo and then get the all clear before even thinking about returning.

Not sure where that estimate would have come from, as far as I'm aware the only ever estimate offered was 'whenever he's healthy again.'
 

greg_bird

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does anyone know if mannah has recovered from his illness ? and if so will he be fit enough to play round 1
 

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John Mannah back with the boys

John Mannah back with the boys
By Nick Walshaw
December 12, 2009 12:01AM

CHALK this one up on your list of Christmas miracles. Inspirational Cronulla Shark Jon Mannah is back among the boys ... laughing, joking, kicking Steedens. Even taking time out to don that famous red suit.

Never has an NRL player been so happy to play Santa Claus at his club Christmas party. And never has it meant more to those watching on. Usually issued as pre-season punishment to the fella carrying too many kilos, Cronulla yesterday bucked tradition and handed the role to the unbreakable prop .

Diagnosed with cancer back in August, the 108kg bookend has since undergone two biopsies, five radiotherapy treatments and spent "hundreds" of hours in with the doctors. All before halftime.

"Yeah, right now I'm about halfway through the treatment," Mannah said. "And while there are some stubborn sections, it looks like most of the cancer is going away. I'm having chemotherapy once a fortnight and, to be honest. it's all going incredibly well. I'm coping well with the treatment and keeping my weight. But the biggest thing has been the support of my family, NRL players and the wider community.

"I mean, I've got so many texts from blokes I've never even spoken to before it's incredible. Only last week, my brother Tim was asked to pass on a message of support from Mark Bosnich. It's unbelievable."

A deeply religious athlete, Mannah only learnt that he'd developed cancer after failing to recover from a cracked vertebra.

Concerned club doctor Dave Givney sent the NRL rookie to leading spinal surgeon Dr Richard Parkinson, who was then forced to deliver the terrible news. Tests had revealed a "hot spot" - a term doctors use for what is basically a warning sign for cancer.

But in Mannah's case it was more than a warning. And just like that, his life was joined to the word "lymphoma".

"So to see Johnny back out here with the boys today, mate, it really puts things into perspective," said Sharks back-rower Anthony Tupou. "Because you think you're doing it hard, or training is difficult, but then you look at Jon and you get a new understanding of doing it tough. Yet he never complains.

"I'm sure there are times when he's feeling bad - but he will never let you know. It's why we're inspired by him. And why as soon as we saw him arrive at the club today ... mate, everyone cheered."

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All dressed up ... Cronulla Sharks player John Mannah as Santa Claus for a kids charity event at Cronulla Leagues Club. Picture: Mark Evans Source: The Daily Telegraph

Daily Telegraph Cronulla Sharks player John Mannah as Santa Claus for a kids charity event at Cronulla Leagues Club. Picture: Mark Evans

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=...530672&usg=AFQjCNF6c6FMoXTDYWfVhrn5EQTksSSZzA
 

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fitz

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Read this first thing this morning with a cuppa. What a great way to start the day!

Great to hear Jonny's treatment and recovery is going well and that he's got so much love and support for him.

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Well done big fella!
 

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