Rugby League legend Bill Bradstreet was as tough as they came in the 1960s and 70s playing 111 games for Manly-Warringah as well as representing NSW and Australia.

Today, 78-year-old Bill is not doing so well. The former lock forward – who played in the 1968 grand final against Souths – was diagnosed with dementia in 2017.

His health has been in steady decline since then. He requires full-time care by wife of 55 years, Neridah, and sometimes she needs a break.

HammondCare’s Lucinda Cottage, an overnight respite cottage at Wahroonga, has been a huge help to the couple as a home-away-from-home for Bill.

The cottage offers Bill a comfortable stay with trained carers, delicious home-cooked meals and organised activities while Nerida gets time for herself.

The couple have called for public support for the HammondCare 2022 Christmas Appeal to support HammondCare’s overnight respite cottages, Lucinda Cottage, Wahroonga and Jean Marion Cottage, Narara on the Central Coast. Government funding doesn’t cover all the costs of upkeep for these services.

Before Neridah learned of Lucinda Cottage, their children Shawn, Darren and Gavin told her of their concern that she needed a break.

"Caring for Bill required constant thought and monitoring,” Neridah said.

“My children said to me ‘Mum, you’ve got to take a break’, and they encouraged me to look at overnight respite services.

“I had one friend whose husband used a different overnight respite service with a clinical environment and he refused to go back, even when she needed the break and support.

“But then I discovered HammondCare’s Lucinda Cottage, which looked so homely. It was recommended to me by another lady I knew…it is wonderful. I feel very lucky to have found it.”

Neridah appreciates the relationship-based care offered the overnight respite cottages. A huge fear for her, unrealised, had been that Bill would feel unstimulated and abandoned.

Neridah said she wonders if the disease that is disabling her husband is linked to his playing days. “I do. Back then it was so much different – there were not replacements like there are now when there is an injury,” Neridah said. “They just kept on playing”.

Repeated head injuries, known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), can affect brain function and some experts argue may lead to dementia.

Bill’s rugby league days were a different era when players held down a proper job during the week – Bill was a carpenter – and no one fussed too much about a blow to the head.

Neridah remembers one pre-season Manly game against South Sydney at the Sydney Sports Ground where Bill split his head open. A few minutes after stitches from the team doctor, Bill was right back in the fray. The following week, Bill’s stitches had healed but he copped a concussion.

After Bill’s dementia diagnosis five years ago, he received the all clear to continue driving but within two years that had to end.

“I knew his driving had to stop when he asked for directions to our friend’s home we had both driven to countless times,” Neridah recalls. Soon much loved activities like a round of golf with friends and bowls were no longer possible.

HammondCare Chief Executive Mike Baird said funds raised by the HammondCare Foundation through the Christmas Appeal 2022 would go toward maintenance and improvement of Lucinda Cottage, Wahroonga and Jean Marion Cottage, Narara.

“The Foundation is targeting cottages with the greatest need so they can continue to ensure people like Bill and Neridah have access to the quality, home-like respite they deserve,” Mr Baird said.

Please consider giving to the HammondCare christmas Appeal 2022, to help carers like Neridah receive a much-needed break.