Canterbury Bulldogs forward Jack Underhill revealed he deliberately kept a misspelling in a tribute tattoo to his mother Renee, who died of cancer when he was seven—recalling the birthday cards she wrote him until he turned 20.
Magic Round in Brisbane brought Jack Underhill his first taste of NRL action—four runs, 22 tackles, and a debut for the Canterbury Bulldogs against Cronulla—but the night carried a deeper meaning for the 21-year-old.
Ahead of that NRL moment, Underhill told his teammates about a tattoo on his torso that spells out a message his mother wrote into his life. He lost his mother, Renee, to cancer when he was just seven, and before she died she sent him cards to open every birthday until he turned 20.
Each card was signed off with the words “dream, believe, suceed”. Underhill said the tattoo is taken from those notes—“It’s what this tattoo is.” But the detail that caught people’s attention wasn’t just the message. It was the spelling.
Underhill explained to his teammates that the word “succeed” is misspelt the way his mother wrote it. “It’s the same as my sister’s. But succeed is spelled wrong. That’s how she spelled it.”
He described the card he was remembering when he spoke to the Bulldogs group: “In every note she had at the bottom… ‘dream, believe, suceed’.” He also recalled the painful gap his mother’s illness left behind—“This was my first one (birthday) that I never got one.”
The emotional explanation struck a chord beyond the club.. Footy fans flooded social media in the comments section to congratulate Underhill. with supporters describing how beautiful the tribute was and how Renee would be proud of him.. One wrote, “How beautiful.. Mums are the best.. She would be so proud of her son,” while another said, “Made me cry.. What a magnificent mum and a wonderful young man.” A third added, “This gave me goosebumps.. She would be so proud of him.”
For Underhill, football and family memory have stayed tightly linked. The Kawana Dolphins junior from the Sunshine Coast came off the bench against the Sharks at Magic Round last Friday night, then posted after the match: “Just a kid with a dream.”
He is widely viewed as one of the Bulldogs’ most exciting prospects.. Underhill was man of the match in Canterbury’s 2024 Jersey Flegg premiership-winning side. and he debuted for the club last weekend—making him Bulldog 880.. A front-rower with a big presence in the middle of the field. he is signed at Belmore until the end of the 2028 season.
The debut also sits alongside another sign of Canterbury’s longer-term plans.. Underhill joined Jack Todd in signing a contract extension in February.. Canterbury general manager of football Phil Gould said at the time: “These are two of the brightest prospects at the club.” He added. “They arrived at the club as boys looking for an opportunity. and they have grown into fine men who represent the Bulldogs in a dignified and professional manner. ” before concluding: “They have put in the hard work and are now ready to reap the rewards.. These two are NRL players of the future.”
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