By The Mole. July 2014.
GREG Mackey is dying - but he has one last mission on this earth.
Cancer is eating away at the former Souths, Illawarra and Bulldogs star and he knows his days are numbered.
"It's going to get me, I am resigned to that," the brave 52-year-old says.
"But the last thing I want to do is tell my old team-mates and the guys I played against to get themselves checked.
"Men tend to ignore that kind of thing… I did.
"By the time I did go to my doctor, it was too late. But I'm not dead yet and if I can get the message out to guys of my generation, I feel I will have achieved something before I go."
"He was a great player to coach - so enthusiastic" - Veteran coach Brian Smith on Greg Mackey.
Mackey was a competitive, cheeky halfback in Australia in the 1980s but in England he enjoyed near superstar status.
While his plight has gone un-noticed in his homeland, English club Warrington recently held a fundraiser to help their former skipper pay his medical bills.
"Unbeknown to me, my daughter got onto the club," Mackey explains.
"I can't tell you how humbled I am that they remember me and put their hands in their pockets for me more than 20 years after I left the place.
"I had some great times there and it's nice to know I haven't been forgotten.
"I played a club record for most consecutive games and the fans thought I was bulletproof. Sadly, we now have proof I'm not."
Mackey led Warrington to glory days in the 1990s, including a famous Lancashire Cup final triumph and also skippered Hull to a premiership trophy win.
Greg Mackey, hero of Warrington. Pic: Shaun Botterill.
Friends are rallying around Mackey in his time of need.
Veteran coach Brian Smith has fond memories of the red-haired half known affectionately as 'Bluey'.
"He was a great player to coach - so enthusiastic," Smith says.
"I brought him to grade football at Souths and he was a player who got the best out of himself."
Mackey will join former Illawarra team-mates at a Steelers reunion on August 8 - if his health allows it.
"He is a tough bugger and is fighting a good fight," says Steelers legend Michael Bolt.
"He's not giving up."
Greg Mackey (centre) with Michael Bolt (left) and Sean O'Connor ahead of the first "Rusty Steelers" reunion in 2009. Pic: Orlando Chiodo.
Mackey is spending his remaining time with family, including twin grandkids.
"I have my bad days but can't afford to be too negative," he says.
"I still play the odd round of golf when I have the strength but am about to undergo another round of chemotherapy, which really knocks you around.
"It can't save me, but it might give me a few more months.
"I am determined to enjoy what time I have left."
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