Honoured Brattan thanks 'incredible' A-League support for family cause

Winning the 2020 A-League double isn't the greatest thing Sydney FC star and PFA Community Medal winner Luke Brattan has achieved this year.

The 30-year-old midfielder's 23-year-old sister, Holli-Mia, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, which drove Brattan to spearhead a World's Greatest Shave fundraising campaign that rose over $30,000 for the Leukemia Foundation.

That work earned him the 2020 PFA Community Medal and the Sydney star was extremely grateful to the players across the A-League who contributed.

“It has been a tough year,” Brattan said. “There have been a couple of big things that have happened off the field that have affected my family. From the outside looking in, you couldn’t really tell what was going on behind the scenes because I tried to work as hard as I could on the field and do all the right things and hopefully just make my family proud.

“I can’t thank everyone enough for donating and everyone that was involved. Hopefully, they understand how big a deal it is to me.

“My teammates were huge; a lot of them donated a lot of money to the cause as well, and not just them, but a lot of players around the league – which was pretty incredible. I’ve got some pretty incredible friends around the league that have supported me through a tough time.”

PFA President and Brattan's teammate, Alex Wilkinson, said Brattan's ability to combine on-field and off-field success was worthy of adulation.

“What Bratts has managed to achieve on and off the field has been absolutely inspiring,” Wilkinson said.

“He has been an absolute professional and one of the league’s leading midfielders, all while facing a really challenging and emotional situation with his loved ones.

“Bratts is fully deserving of this award and we hope he continues to be able to help and support not just his sister, but thousands of other Australians who are struggling, while inspiring other footballers to give back to their communities.”