Gay rights supporter: Paul Langmack. Credit:Bega District News "She will be belting out Simply The Best," Langmack says, referring to rugby league's defining anthem of the late 1980s and early '90s. What Langmack – a three-time premiership winner with Canterbury – won't tell you is how he's planning all of this while grappling with a cancer scare. Last week, he asked Bulldogs great Dr George Peponis to check a lump in his throat. A biopsy and ultrasound revealed cancer in his lymph nodes. More tests are required next week to determine if the cancer is gone, or how much is left to take out.

"How long will I be out of action for?" Langmack asked his specialist. "Four or five days," came the reply. "Mate, I've got a Mardi Gras float to be on." "What do you want to do first: save your life or go to Mardi Gras?" "Mardi Gras."

Langmack is one of my favourite people in footy. His nickname is "Yesterday's Hero", a reference to his former segment on The Footy Show. But I call him the "Kylie Minogue of rugby league" because, in the past year, he's become a gay icon of sorts. It's better than calling him "Madonna". "Yeah, I'll stick with Kylie," he says. We laugh about it but there's an honourable truth behind his push for an NRL float in this year's parade. He won't say it but I know it's fact that others within League Central haven't been so supportive. "Anyone in rugby league, whether you are gay, lesbian, transgender or whatever, and whether you run the canteen in Dubbo or you're the team manager of a State of Origin team, should feel comfortable," he says. "You don't have to declare your sexuality but you should know that this is rugby league and we stand by our teammate on or off the field."

Langmack made more than 300 first grade appearances for the Bulldogs, Western Suburbs and the Roosters. His nose tells the story of how tough he played it. Since his retirement, he's been a coach, but in recent years works in corporate sales for the NSWRL. He was introduced to the gay community through his partner, Amanda Lee. The pair are now marriage equality ambassadors. "People don't know how to be part of Mardi Gras," Langmack says. "I never did. A mate said to me recently, 'If I told you three years ago you'd be organising a Mardi Gras float, you'd have said you're joking'. And I said, 'Yep'. "But Amanda, my girl, she has heaps of gay friends. Suddenly, I knew how to be part of it."

Now, he wants everyone to be part of it. A year ago, Langmack was the sole rugby league representative on the anti-homophobia in sport float, which led the parade. It featured current players from other codes, including Mike Pyke and Nick Smith from the Swans, the openly gay vice-captain of the Australian cricket team Alex Blackwell and all-rounder Ellyse Perry, Brumbies star Matt Toouma and Sydney FC's Rhyan Grant. The NRL asked Langmack at the 11th hour, and was later forced to defend itself for not sending a current player. Of course, rugby league should be at the forefront of stamping out homophobia in sport. It had Ian Roberts, the world's first openly gay footballer. Despite the criticism, last year's experience sparked something within Langmack, who ever since has passionately lobbied those within the game to embrace diversity through its Welfare and One Community arms.

With the backing of NSWRL chief executive Dave Trodden, Bulldogs chairman Ray Dib and chief executive Raelene Castle, he has made the float a reality. "People were saying to me weeks after last year's parade, 'Thanks for doing that, my son's gay'," he says. "Who gives a rat's who you are? As long as you're a good person, that's all that matters. You can tell I have a passion for it. People thought I was going on the float to take the piss, like it was a Footy Show skit. I did it because I wanted to help people's lives and educate; to make people feel comfortable." With that in mind, he foresees a time when every NRL club will enter a float in the parade. In the meantime, he's prepared for the game to take baby steps up Oxford Street, down Flinders and then past the SCG and Allianz Stadium where he played much of his career. The timing is problematic.

In recent years, the NRL has moved its season forward to the first week of March, meaning it coincides with the culmination of the Mardi Gras festival. That means it's difficult to entice current players onto this year's float, although Langmack is hopeful of convincing players from Parramatta, Brisbane, Manly and the Bulldogs because they play their season openers on the Thursday and Friday before the parade. ARL Commission chairman John Grant was invited to be on the float but declined because of other commitments. Hopefully, in years to come, more rugby league identities will climb aboard, nudging Tina from the podium and taking centre stage. Just being there would send a strong message about the game – and to the young footy player/official/supporter.

"That's what sport is about," Langmack says. "Just as long as you know we are standing right beside you."