Devastating diagnosis behind beautiful marriage proposal in W-League
Rhali Dobson broke down in tears on Thursday night as the final game of her W-League career was capped off by a marriage proposal from partner Matt Stonham.
At age 28, Dobson had told her Melbourne City teammates on the eve of the match that she was going to retire to spend time helping Stonham during his battle with brain cancer.
'TERRIBLE NEWS': Football rocked by 19yo prodigy's death
'SUPERSTAR': Fans go nuts over incredible Sam Kerr moment
And not only did the former Matilda score a goal as her side earned a 2-1 win over Perth Glory, Dobson received - and said "yes" to - a marriage proposal.
As Dobson ran to celebrate with her family by the side of the pitch at full-time, Stonham got down on one knee and proposed.
Dobson broke down in tears before the pair were both then mobbed by her Melbourne teammates.
She had proposed to him twice in recent weeks, only for him to laugh off the idea.
"This is bigger than the sport. He is my absolute world," said Dobson after accepting the proposal.
"I'd kept things pretty quiet (with the team) because I wanted them to stay focused on making sure we had a strong finish to the end of the season. As we know, it's been very up and down.
"They knew Matt had surgery and everything so they've been amazing in terms of messaging us both and making sure that we knew that they are here for us. They've been perfect."
The beautiful scenes went viral around the world.
This is amazing
For anyone who needs context, 28-year old Rhali Dobson is cutting her successful football career short so she can work full-time and support her partner Matt who has brain cancer.
She scored in her final game. He proposed.
Details: https://t.co/fp8P3SAqRN https://t.co/XsROLYvaor— Nick Stoll (@NickStoll) March 25, 2021
Australia’s Rhali Dobson announced she would be retiring before her final match tonight for Melbourne City, to support her partner who is undergoing brain cancer treatment.
After her team won the match, he proposed. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/a35UnvEylw— FourFourTweet (@FourFourTweet) March 25, 2021
Australian international @rhali_dobson retired at age 28 to support her boyfriend, who suffers from brain cancer. She scored and won her farewell match before her boyfriend proposed to her 💍💕 pic.twitter.com/tCdbgB6ggD
— 433 (@433) March 25, 2021
Australia's Rhali Dobson has sadly decided to retire from football aged 28 to support her boyfriend, who has brain cancer.
She played her last game today, scored and won. After the game, he proposed. A story equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring.
Sending all our love. 💔😔 pic.twitter.com/1fwrXKMS1F— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) March 25, 2021
Rhali Dobson is retiring aged 28 to help her partner battle brain cancer. He proposed to her immediately after her final game, on the pitch. ❤️
pic.twitter.com/896HiVYMcz— SPORTbible (@sportbible) March 25, 2021
Australia international Rhali Dobson announced she would be retiring from football at age 28 to support her boyfriend, who is undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy for brain cancer, before Melbourne City played Perth Glory on Thursday.
She scored.
They won.
He proposed 💍 pic.twitter.com/55Eg2jloQK— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 25, 2021
Matt Stonham's devastating battle with brain cancer
Stonham was diagnosed with cancer six years ago, after having a seizure while playing football.
He had surgery for a second time earlier this month and will have aggressive radiotherapy, before 12 months of chemotherapy.
"Five days after his brain surgery he kicked my backside back down here to Melbourne, told me that I had to finish out the season, that I've got unfinished business and it was still normal as always," Dobson told ESPN earlier in the week.
"Then we got the news two days after I got back down here to Melbourne that the part that they took out - which they got all of, which is fantastic - had transitioned to a grade three brain tumour.
"So, he now starts aggressive radiotherapy until the end of May and then he'll start aggressive chemotherapy for 12 months.
"We've caught things exceptionally early, he's on the very positive end of the scale because of his age."
with AAP
Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.
