Daughter's Heartbreaking Tribute to Rugby Legend Steve Mortimer Amid Dementia Battle
The daughter of rugby league icon Steve Mortimer has delivered a profoundly moving tribute to her father, revealing the devastating impact his dementia diagnosis has had on their family as they witness him gradually slipping away. Erin Mortimer spoke openly about watching her father, once a superhero in her eyes, decline "bit by bit" into a vulnerable state that has left him requiring full-time care.
A Legendary Career Marred by Head Injuries
Steve Mortimer, affectionately known as 'Turvey' throughout his career, stands as one of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' greatest players. The brilliant halfback captained the club to premiership victories in both 1984 and 1985 during a dominant era for the team. His exceptional skills earned him representation for New South Wales and Australia, where he played a pivotal role in State of Origin matches throughout the 1980s.
Beyond his sporting achievements, Mortimer has always been a devoted family man to his wife Karen and their three children: Erin, Matthew, and Andrew. However, the repeated head knocks sustained during his playing days have returned to haunt the Bulldogs legend. In 2021, the family publicly announced that Mortimer was suffering from a form of dementia directly linked to his rugby career.
When he retained more clarity several years ago, Mortimer himself led calls for rugby league to reform its approach to head-high tackles and improve player safety protocols.The Emotional Toll on the Mortimer Family
Erin Mortimer recently appeared on the ABC series 'The Piano,' where amateur musicians perform on public pianos in busy locations while being judged by experts including Guy Sebastian and Andrea Lam. During the show's second season premiere, Erin performed a song she wrote specifically for her father titled 'Lullaby for the Old Man.'
She spoke lovingly about Mortimer's role within their family during her childhood years. "Every Christmas, or barbecue or family gathering, he was always with the kids, making the fun happen and often the man behind the old home videos," Erin recalled. "He was always wondering what he could do for you, could he drive you here, could he do that. He was ultimately nicknamed 'The Mother Hen.'"
"The hardest part about loving someone with dementia is just seeing someone that was just a superhero to you, to see that slowly get taken away from you, bit by bit," Erin explained emotionally. "To see them end up in such a vulnerable state, and him being in a room now which isn't home. That's hard."Music as a Coping Mechanism
Erin has always possessed musical talent, but she turned to singing and songwriting as a therapeutic outlet for processing her family's tragedy. "In some ways, he's somewhat young still to be having this condition," she noted about her 69-year-old father. "It's heartbreaking because we start to see him unbecome a carer. And it can be really tricky sometimes."
She described songwriting as "a godsend" that provided "a wonderful way of processing a lot of it. When you've got someone that's still very much here, but not really here. It's wonderful just to have that tool, and I'm so grateful that I can still go to the piano and sit down and put words down, cheers-ing to the man that he was."
A Public Performance and Private Grief
Erin performed her heartfelt ode to her father before a live audience, maintaining remarkable composure while her mother Karen watched with tears streaming down her face. She explained the song's title: "The title itself, being a lullaby, is because I sing my kids to sleep. My dad would actually sing me to sleep."
Karen Mortimer described their experience as "definitely the long goodbye," but added, "I think, for me, I know he is still there, inside. His soul is still very active."
When asked what she would say to her father if she knew he could understand her, Erin responded: "If I could have one more clear conversation with my dad, I would just say thank you. Because mate, you did good. And I love him so much."
The Mortimer family's story highlights the lasting consequences of head injuries in contact sports and the emotional journey families undertake when caring for loved ones with dementia. Steve Mortimer now resides in a Sydney nursing home where he receives full-time care as his condition continues to decline significantly.
