Gold Coast Suns rocked by heartbreaking death of Will Graham's brother, Jackson
With the funeral on Thursday, senior coach Damien Hardwick has already moved his scheduled media conference this week to Wednesday.
And on Saturday in the game against Carlton at Marvel Stadium, players wore black armbands to pay tribute to Jackson.
Jackson, 22, died unexpectedly last Wednesday. He was two years older than Will and a much-loved member of Will's former football club, Palm Beach Currumbin.
Jackson was also a gun junior surfer.
He joined the World Surf League's junior tour in 2020 after winning Queensland's prestigious Mark Richards Shield championship for under-19s (alongside Joshua Boyle) in 2019.
He was also he was also a key member of the under-16 team that won the state MRSHS crown in 2018.
Pro Australian surfers such as Thomas Carvalho, Tim Bain, Callum Robson, Liam O'Brien, and Micah Margieson have paid their respects to Jackson via social media, and so have Japanese stars Toy Tanaka and Sein Fujimoto.
QAFL club Palm Beach Currumbin said: 'Never Forgotten. Loved By All #21 ❤️🕊️.'
A club fan said: 'RIP Jacko. Cookie & I are broken to hear the news. Thinking of Andy, Kylie & especially Will through this difficult time. We are here for you all if you need anything. Our Palm Beach Currumbin Australian Football Club is broken right now.'
Another said: 'So heartbreaking. Such a lovely young man. Amazing footy player. Sending our love and heartfelt condolences to all the family. RIP Jacko #21.'
And another: 'Devastated. Gone way too soon. Such a great bloke. Kind and thoughtful. Such sad news 😥rest in peace Jacko.'
Labrador Football club said: 'On behalf of everyone at Labrador, we extend our deepest condolences to Jackson's family, friends, and everyone at Palm Beach Currumbin Australian Football Club.'
Jackson's funeral will be held at Currumbin Vikings SLSC on Thursday.
Will has not played since injuring his shoulder in a starring cameo in Round 9 against the Western Bulldogs.
In that game he booted two goals and had seven tackles to help his team secure the 10-point win in Darwin.
He had another setback recently when he injured his hamstring in the VFL.
A gofundme page has been set up for Jackson and had raised more than $61,000 at the time of writing.
High-profile Gold Coast stars such as Ben King, Touk Miller and Mac Andrew had made donations to the gofundme, as had Hardwick.
Queensland Police Service say there is nothing suspicious about Graham's death. The matter is not being investigated.
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