{"id":9212,"date":"2026-06-30T15:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catalansdragons.com\/news\/le-defi-de-steve-deakin\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T15:12:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T13:12:26","slug":"le-defi-de-steve-deakin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catalansdragons.com\/en\/brief\/le-defi-de-steve-deakin\/","title":{"rendered":"Defiant Deakin takes on marathon challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Steve Deakin has had a remarkable life in Rugby League \u2013 and now Rugby League Cares are supporting him as he confronts adversity to raise money for causes close to his heart.<\/p>\n<p>Deakin, now 71, coached at no fewer than five Super League clubs and is perhaps most strongly associated with French Rugby League after the years he spent living and working across the Channel, as well as with his hometown club Oldham.<\/p>\n<p>He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013 and speaks in an astonishingly matter-of-fact way about how the cancer has spread over the last six years \u2013 to his spine, hips, breasts and lymphatic system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is what it is \u2013 that\u2019s a phrase I use a lot,\u201d said Steve. \u201cI\u2019m not negative in any shape or form. I\u2019d like to think I\u2019ve always been a pragmatic person \u2013 and my faith helps me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Having remained a close friend of John Kear\u2019s since working as his assistant coach at Sheffield Eagles \u2013 including at Wembley for their famous 1998 Challenge Cup triumph over Wigan \u2013 Steve has been both moved and inspired by his recent death.<\/p>\n<p>He has therefore finalised plans to complete a marathon on Saturday September 5 \u2013 concluding at Oldham St Anne\u2019s, the community club where the Deakin family have been such significant figures \u2013 with the money he raises to be shared between a number of causes.<\/p>\n<p>The causes are linked by Motor Neurone Disease \u2013 Steve having lost another close Rugby League friend from his time in Australia, Jason Whitfield, to that disease a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe recent loss of my close friends John Kear and Jason Whitfield made me stop and think,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt reminded me that while we can\u2019t always change what happens to us, we can still try to make a difference for someone else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith that in mind, I have decided to take on a marathon. There is just one difference. I can\u2019t run it, so I will be walking every mile. Assisting me on this challenge are my son Liam and my son-in-law David Best.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am doing this to raise money for causes that mean a great deal to me. The funds raised will be donated to the children of Rob Burrow, Jason Whitfield and Jai Arrow, and also to the Motor Neurone Disease Association.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you are able to donate, no matter how small the amount, I would be incredibly grateful. If you can\u2019t donate, please consider sharing this post.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you for taking the time to read my story and for any support you can give.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<a href='https:\/\/www.goodhub.com\/go\/rjjmarathon' class='small-button smallblue'>You can support Steve &#8211; and the people and causes outlined above &#8211; by clicking on this link<\/a>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9210\" src=\"https:\/\/catalansdragons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/217551_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1636\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steve Deakin has had a remarkable life in Rugby League \u2013 and now Rugby League Cares are supporting him as he confronts adversity to raise money for causes close to his heart. Deakin, now 71, coached at no fewer than five Super League clubs and is perhaps most strongly associated with French Rugby League after [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brief","category-club"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Defiant Deakin takes on marathon challenge - Les Dragons Catalans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/catalansdragons.com\/en\/brief\/le-defi-de-steve-deakin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defiant Deakin takes on marathon challenge - Les Dragons Catalans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Steve Deakin has had a remarkable life in Rugby League \u2013 and now Rugby League Cares are supporting him as he confronts adversity to raise money for causes close to his heart. 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