Canberra rugby league rallies around Gungahlin great Steve Keir

Steve Keir wandered through the car park before training and caught the eye of one of Canberra rugby league's most iconic figures.

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"Mate, what are you doing here? We haven't got any money to give you," legendary coach Brian Bourke told the dazzling outside back who had stints with the Canberra Raiders, Eastern Suburbs and North Sydney.

The rugby league community is rallying around Steve Keir. Picture supplied

"Mate, I'm just happy if you give me a couple of beers after the game," Keir grinned. And in the 37 years that followed, the Gungahlin Bulls legend earned every one.

Now the rugby league community is rallying around Keir, wife Di and their family as the man hailed as "the backbone of the Bulls" battles cancer.

If you've spent even an hour at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval to watch the Bulls play in the Canberra Raiders Cup, chances are you've seen the man better known as "Boomer" setting up the ground, sweeping out the change room and cleaning the grandstands.

If you've been around a little longer, you might have seen him scoring a try with his last touch in the 1999 grand final. You might have seen him calling the shots as coach, or serving as club president. Maybe he handed you a sausage while he was minding the barbecue.

"He's been always there," one Bulls official said, which explains why the beloved club life member's phone has been running hot in recent days.

"We've had some troubles over the years, and he's always been there to stand up and help out and get it sorted out.

"He has mentored the young blokes, he's been outstanding. Even up to now, even this year, he's been there cleaning up after games, cleaning the grandstands and sweeping out the sheds.

"He's just always a giving person. He always wants to help people out."

Keir made 12 appearances for the Raiders across 1983 and 1984, before stints with Eastern Suburbs and North Sydney. He has been at the Bulls since 1989, which is when he caught Bourke's eye at training. He's been there so long that he has seen the club transform from the Belconnen United Sharks, to the Ginninderra Bulls, to the Gungahlin Bulls they are today.

He was named at centre in the club's centenary team, and coached junior sides including Ireland Test winger Mack Hansen, former ACT Brumbies prop Tom Ross, and of course, his son.

Lauren, Ashley and Dan Keir. Picture by Katherine Griffiths

Keir's daughters would not be outdone. Lauren Keir spent six years playing in the A-League Women's competition with stints at Canberra United and the Western Sydney Wanderers, while Ashley Keir was a WTA tour tennis player. Fair to say Steve and Di were doing something right.

"I knew Steve before my time at the Bulls, going to school [at Daramalan College] with Lauren, Ash and then Dan, and having that connection through there," Bulls captain-coach Matt Frawley said.

"But then coming back, he was one of the first to reach out to me when I signed with the Bulls, and helped move me into my apartment when I moved back from overseas, along with the old boys.

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