Hardly surprising, then, that when he found out his best mate, Jamy Forbes, was doing it tough, Peden had no hesitation donating the shirt off his own back – his prized 1997 grand final jersey – to help his former Cessnock Goannas teammate get back on his feet.

A father of four boys and husband to Monique, Forbes has been unable to work since having surgery in August to remove cancerous tumours from his throat, so his friends have organised a benefit night at The Entrance Leagues Club on Saturday to ease his burden.

‘‘With four boys to look after, it’s been a fairly tough time for him and his family, so the idea behind it was to put a bit of a night together and try to raise a bit of money to help him with his mortgage payments and his everyday bills,’’ Peden told the  Herald.

‘‘I thought the only thing I’ve got that’s really of any value to anyone would be that footy jumper. It is fairly special to me, but certainly not as special as my mates, so I thought I’d donate it and see if we can raise some money for his family out of it.

‘‘It’s had pride of place within my family since that time, and it’s a symbol of a fairly significant time and a good time in my life, but I value my friendships a little bit more than that, so anything I can do to help one of my mates out, I’d rather give it away than hang on to it.

‘‘Since I put it on Facebook, people have come out of the woodwork trying to help, so the response has been fantastic.’’

Initially dismissing swollen glands as nothing more than a sore throat, 42-year-old Forbes heeded the advice of another friend’s wife and paid his local GP a visit.

That was in June, and within two months he had undergone surgery to have his lymph glands, saliva glands, tonsils and part of his tongue removed, and begun a course of radiotherapy.

‘‘If I can get a message out to anyone out of all this, it would be to get these things checked out, because I was that close to letting the whole thing slide,’’ Forbes said. ‘‘With four young boys, I’d hate to think what might have happened if I let it slide, because that visit to my doctor saved my life.’’

Peden and Forbes played junior league against each other at Cessnock, joined the Goannas’ senior ranks together, and in 1992 were teammates in the Newcastle representative side that won the NSW Country Divisional Championship.

Forbes was NSW Country Player of the Year in 1995, around the time Peden was establishing himself as a regular first-grader at the Knights.

Earlier on the famous September Sunday that Peden and the Knights shocked Manly in the 1997 ARL grand final at Sydney Football Stadium, Forbes played for Balmain in their 26-16 loss to Parramatta in the reserve-grade decider.

Peden went on to a long and illustrious career with the Knights, racking up 190 games between 1994 and 2002, and is the only player to have played in their 1997 and 2001 grand final wins and the winning 1995 reserve-grade decider.

Hooker Forbes played at several bush clubs, including Macquarie Scorpions and Orange Hawks, before finding a home at The Entrance Tigers, where he has coached since 2006.

He captained The Entrance to victory in the 2003 Jim Beam Cup grand final and was captain-coach when they won the same title in 2007.

‘‘I was probably the lucky one who ended up with a career in footy and Jamy just missed out, but he’s probably one of the better players to not play first grade,’’ Peden said.

Though he has completed his radiotherapy treatment and said his prognosis was promising, Forbes is still waiting for the ‘‘all clear’’ from his surgeon and faces check-ups every three months for the foreseeable future.

Forbes felt indebted to Peden and other friends, including fellow Cessnock success stories Andrew and Matthew Johns, and the Men of League Foundation for donating other items of memorabilia to be auctioned on Saturday.

‘‘It helps having so many friends in high places, because some of the things they’ve done already have been phenomenal,’’ Forbes said.

‘‘I feel very humbled, very appreciative, a bit embarrassed even; but as people keep assuring me, if the shoe was on the other foot, I’m sure I’d be doing the same thing, so it’s mixed emotions.

‘‘Hopefully some day I can repay Bill in some way. He’s been my best mate for a long time and it’s unbelievable what he’s doing for me, and what a lot of my mates are doing for me.’’

Hosted by Matthew Johns, Forbes’s fund-raiser has attracted a sell-out crowd of 300.

Peden is taking bids for his jersey via Facebook. 

Anyone interested in donating can do so by contacting The Entrance Leagues Club on 43343233.