Photo: NRL Facebook
The wife of rugby league legend Clive Churchill, Joyce, has died, aged 99.
In a statement, the Australian Rugby League Commission and the NRL said they are deeply saddened.
They said Joyce Churchill was a staunch and passionate supporter of rugby league, and the legacy of the Clive Churchill Medal will live on thanks to the extraordinary contributions of the couple.
"We send our deepest condolences to Joyce Churchill's family and friends, as well as those who were touched by her generosity and support."
Churchill was the wife of former Rabbitohs fullback, Clive 'The Little Master' Churchill, who died in 1985 after a battle with cancer. The couple had one son, Rodney.
The 'Clive Churchill Medal' has been awarded to the best player in NRL grand finals since 1986.
Rabbitohs chairman, Nick Pappas, said the club is in deep mourning.
"We will always remember Joyce as a woman of great humility and principle who cherished the club her late husband Clive will always be synonymous with."
In 2014, Joyce Churchill presented the Clive Churchill Medal to a Rabbitohs player for the first time, after Sam Burgess played 79 minutes with a fractured eye socket. It was South Sydney's first premiership since Clive Churchill coached them to victory in 1971, and Joyce wore the red and green pork-pie hat that was worn by her husband in grand finals when he was coaching the Rabbitohs.