A junior rugby league community on Australia’s Gold Coast is coming together after losing two young boys connected to the same club within days of one another.
Treyvon Bradshaw, 13, and Kaiyah Kennedy, 12, both had strong ties to the Coomera Cutters Rugby League Club in Queensland.
Treyvon was a current player with the club, while Kaiyah had previously been part of the Cutters community.
Their losses, which occurred just days apart, have left teammates, families, coaches and volunteers struggling to process what happened. But the club is now turning its attention toward supporting young people and making mental health conversations a bigger part of community sport.
Treyvon passed away on September 26, while Kaiyah passed away on October 2, according to reports.
The Coomera Cutters announced the heartbreaking news to its wider community, asking players, families and supporters to look after one another during an extraordinarily difficult period.
The club has emphasized that the two incidents are not believed to be connected.
Instead of allowing the tragedy to become only a moment of mourning, club president Joe Smith said the organization wanted to look at what more could be done to support young people who may be struggling.
Smith told NewsWire that the losses had deeply affected the entire club.
He said the two boys were part of the Cutters family and that their absence had prompted him to think about how community sport could provide stronger support for children and teenagers.
The club was already involved with Queensland Rugby League’s Support Squad, a network designed to connect people in rugby league with mental health and wellbeing resources.
Now, officials say they want to expand those efforts.
The Cutters are planning an event that will provide players with greater access to mental health and bereavement support. The club is also looking at future fundraising efforts to honor the two boys and assist their families.
For the club, the goal is not simply to respond during a moment of crisis.
It is to create an environment where young players feel comfortable talking when something is troubling them.
Community sport can play an important role in that process.
For many children, rugby league is not simply about competition. It can be a place to meet friends, spend time with teammates, work with coaches and feel connected to a larger group.
That sense of belonging has become especially important for the Cutters community now.
Remembering Treyvon and Kaiyah
Away from the rugby field, the two boys were remembered by their families and friends for their individual personalities and the relationships they shared with those around them.
Treyvon, 13, was remembered as a much-loved son and brother.
A fundraiser established for his family described him as a beautiful boy and is helping support his mother, Sarah, an emergency department nurse, and his siblings during this difficult period.
Kaiyah, 12, was remembered by his family as a loving and energetic child.
A fundraiser described him as a mischievous and loving brother and a bright presence in the lives of those around him.
Kaiyah was also described as a proud Aboriginal boy who enjoyed learning and being connected with his culture.
His family remembered his playful personality and the energy he brought into everyday life.
The tributes have helped show that the two boys were much more than their connection to a rugby league club.
They were sons, brothers, friends and young members of a community that now feels their absence.
Support grows across the Gold Coast
The response has extended beyond Coomera Cutters.
Queensland Rugby League has offered support to the club and its wider community, including access to wellbeing and welfare services for players, families, volunteers and members.
Rugby League Gold Coast has also expressed its support.
Meanwhile, separate fundraisers for the two families have attracted significant community support, with reports indicating that the combined amount raised has now reached roughly $50,000.
The fundraising is giving people across the region a practical way to help the families while also showing how strongly the boys were connected to their community.
For the Cutters, however, the next step goes beyond fundraising.
Club leaders want mental health awareness to become a continuing part of the environment surrounding junior sport.
That means encouraging players to speak with someone they trust, checking in on teammates and making sure young people know that asking for help is not something they should feel embarrassed about.
The club has repeatedly encouraged its members to look after one another and to reach out if they are struggling.
A difficult conversation the club wants to continue
The two incidents have inevitably raised difficult questions about mental health among young people.
But community leaders are emphasizing support rather than speculation.
There is no indication that the two incidents were connected, and the available reporting does not establish one single explanation for what either boy was experiencing.
For that reason, the focus from the club has been on creating more opportunities for conversations, support and early intervention.
Joe Smith has said the club does not have all the answers.
What it can do, however, is make sure young players have somewhere to turn.
A training session can be about rugby league, but it can also provide a young person with a few hours surrounded by friends, coaches and people who know them.
That sense of connection can matter.
The Cutters now want to strengthen that environment so that players know there are people willing to listen when life becomes difficult.
The next chapter for Coomera Cutters
The coming weeks will be challenging for the club.
Players and coaches will have to return to training while carrying the emotions of what has happened.
Some young athletes may also be processing the loss differently from adults around them.
That is why the club’s planned mental health and bereavement initiatives could become an important part of its response.
The intention is to create a lasting support system rather than allowing the conversation to disappear once the immediate mourning period passes.
For the families of Treyvon and Kaiyah, nothing can replace the two boys they loved.
But the support now surrounding them shows how deeply their lives touched people across the Gold Coast.
And for the Coomera Cutters, their memory is becoming a reason to strengthen the community that brought these young players together in the first place.
The club’s message is simple: teammates should look after teammates, families should know they are not alone, and young people should have a safe place to speak when they need help.
As the rugby league community moves forward, the Cutters hope that message will remain long after the current moment of grief has passed.
Because for a junior sports club, being part of the community means more than what happens on the field.
It also means being there for one another when life becomes difficult.