Broncos star Kotoni Staggs opens his heart to a grieving neighbour
In a story that blends sport, humanity and community, Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs has shown that fame can be used to brighten a dark chapter for a local family. The story began when Staggs and his fiancée Britt moved into their new home in 2023, only days after tragedy struck the family living next door. Father David Orange, a fit and healthy 38-year-old small business owner, died suddenly, leaving behind wife Kerry and seven-month-old daughter, Eylea. What followed was a powerful reminder that acts of everyday kindness can become lifelines in moments of heartbreak.
Small gestures, big impact
Staggs has quietly become a constant presence for Kerry Orange and her daughter. He buys groceries, offers rides, and babysits Eylea, often without asking for anything in return. In his own words, his generosity comes from a simple belief: there is always someone enduring a greater struggle and a small act of help can restore hope.
“When somebody needs help and I’m around, and obviously I bump into people like that, I’ll do it straight away,” Staggs said after Brisbane’s grand final win. “I’ll go through struggles sometimes but someone else is always going through a bigger struggle than what I am. If I can be there for them and put a smile on their face, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll take my shirt off and give it to them. If I had my last hundred dollars, I’d do the same thing. I’m a giver.”
Kerry Orange admits she didn’t know of Staggs’ football career, nor had she watched an NRL game before meeting her neighbor. Through his kindness, she has come to see him as part of the family, an “uncle” figure who has helped restore a sense of peace in the family’s life during an unimaginably painful time.
A neighbour who becomes family
“Without being asked, he stepped into our lives like an uncle to Eylea, offering support in the gentlest, most selfless ways,” Kerry Orange shared. “He gave both of us something I thought we had lost forever: a sense of peace, moments of comfort and even glimpses of joy in the midst of heartbreak.”
Staggs’ acts of kindness extend beyond practical help. His role has become a source of emotional support, a steady reminder that compassion travels easily from one doorstep to another. The young Broncos star explained that his own life has been shaped by hardship and a desire to give back, a thread that runs through his upbringing and drives him to act when he sees a neighbor in need.
Family, memory, and a lasting legacy
Staggs points to his late grandmother, Dawn, as the inspiration for his generosity. Raised in Wellington, NSW, he didn’t always have a close relationship with his father, and his mother was absent at times during his childhood. Dawn stepped in as his guardian, ensuring their family always had food and shelter. He still wears her name on the wrist tape during games and keeps a photo of her on his bedside table. “Without my grandmother, I don’t think I’d be walking around here right now,” he said. “She was my everything and she made sure we had food, we had everything on the table.”
This sense of duty—honoring Dawn’s memory by helping others—has become a defining trait for Staggs. When asked why he gives back, he talked about the ripple effect of good deeds and how success often follows kindness. “This (grand final win) is what happens,” he said, reflecting on the unexpected rewards that can come when you choose to help others. His experiences—both personal and professional—have reinforced a simple philosophy: keep giving, and life will respond in kind.
Staggs’ journey from a boy who admired his guardian to a rising rugby league star who now carries that legacy onto the grandest stages is a narrative many in the community find inspiring. He has since earned selection in Kevin Walters’ Kangaroos squad for the Ashes tour, a recognition that adds another layer to the idea that good deeds can coincide with athletic achievement. For Kerry Orange and baby Eylea, the tribute is tangible: a neighbor who showed up, stayed present, and changed their world in small but essential ways.
What this story means for community and sport
The tale of Kotoni Staggs is a reminder that athletes are more than their statistics. When they use their platform to support neighbors in need, they help strengthen the fabric of the communities that sustain them. For the Orange family, and for many others watching this unassuming act of generosity, it’s a bright example of how compassion travels—from a single doorstep to the broader world, one kind act at a time.
