Just hours into day one of NSW Blues camp ahead of the State of Origin series opener Emma Verran (nee Tonegato) received a call from a doctor that left her “rattled”.
At 30 years old, Verran was informed a melanoma had been discovered on her back.
The Cronulla Sharks star underwent a community skin screening at a Kiama OzTag event in March when a nurse advised her to urgently get a mole checked out.
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A consult with a skin specialist saw Verran promptly get the mole removed and sent for tests, with a positive melanoma result found six weeks later.
“I kind of forgot about it, to be honest,” Verran told Wide World of Sports.
“When I got that call it was the first day of Origin camp and I was a little bit rattled because I didn’t really know what it meant.
“Being diagnosed at that 30 is pretty confronting.”
Emma Verran (nee Tonegato) shares an image of the scare on her back. Getty
With eyes set on conquering the Origin arena, Verran admitted she resisted undergoing any urgent procedures, despite medical advice to the contrary.
A consult with a plastic surgeon during that same week saw Verran booked in for a procedure immediately after the series ended.
“The doctor was pretty urgent in wanting me to come back and get more skin taken out,” she said. “I went in and got a wide excision.”
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At the time of the surgery Verran took to social media to urge people to “go and get your skin checked” in the wake of her own diagnosis.
When asked if her outlook on skin protection has changed since the procedure, Verran replied “definitely”.
“I was always conscious in the sun but now it is a lot more serious,” she continued.
“I always have my hat and my SPF on, trying to cover up. I try to tell everyone that I know about it and that it is serious.”
Sharks NRLW star Emma Verran ahead of Sportsbet’s 2025 Try July campaign. Brett Costello
While her health battle has altered the sun safety measures she takes before stepping onto the field, Verran’s game day drive remains the same.
Her Sharks lost last year’s NRLW grand final, and begin their 2025 campaign on Thursday hungry to go one better.
“We still have that sour taste in our mouth (from the grand final loss) but in the same regard it is a new year, new team,” Verran said.
“We’ve got a couple different team members. We’ve lost some girls but we’ve also gained some amazing players.
“I have been encouraging all the Sharks girls to get behind Try July and we have been practicing all our try celebrations,” she continued.
“In the captain’s run on Wednesday we will definitely run through a couple more and make sure we are prepared.
“We’re just looking forward to getting round one ticked off and putting a good performance out there.”
Sportsbet will donate $5000 for every try celebration in the NRL and NRLW during July.
Over $1.4 million has been raised since its inception in 2020, with the player hardship fund and the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation the nominated charities for 2025.
