EXCLUSIVE: Wally Lewis reveals Sam Backo's 'very moving' dying wish

Sam Backo's dying wish was to be in Cairns to pass away in an area he was comfortable, fellow Maroons great Wally Lewis revealed.

Backo died surrounded by family in his home town of Cairns on Sunday.

The former prop, 64, had been in intensive care at Cairns Hospital after being diagnosed with bacterial infection melioidosis in April.

READ MORE: Naden, Tigers whacked by NRL over hand gesture

READ MORE: McGuire tells Demons to 'shutup' after Goodwin leak

READ MORE: Cult hero's quiet word to Madge led to Broncos resurgence

Backo, who underwent quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery after a massive heart attack two years ago, was transferred to Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane in July.

As his health deteriorated, Lewis said Backo urged his wife to get him back home to Cairns.

"He'd been battling for a number of months and he was still in a great mood," Lewis said on Wide World of Sports' QLDER.

"Gino (Gene Miles) and I got the opportunity to go along and visit Sam, say g'day to him, and he seemed like he was in great spirits. He was battling all the way though, and sadly lost his fight for life.

Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.

"He really needed to be in his homeland though when he wanted to go and and said to his wife, 'get me out of here. If I'm gonna pass away, I'm gonna want to die in an area where I'm gonna feel very comfortable', and it was a very moving moment."

Backo played 135 first grade matches for the Raiders and Broncos, with seven State of Origin appearances for the Maroons and represented the Kangaroos six times.

He was also the first Australian forward to score tries in all three Tests during an Ashes series.

A chronic knee injury meant he only had limited appearances with the Broncos, which ultimately cut his career short at age 29.

While his impact on the field was profound, Lewis said Backo's personality made him a popular teammate off the field.

"He was always fun to be around the guys used to say, except for dinner time.

"He was just a great guy, very funny man as well. In New Zealand we were on a tour, we used to drive along and try and pronounce the names of these New Zealand towns, and some of them had 13 or 14 letters in them.

"It was him and 'Blocker' Roach up the front. We got to one place and the bus driver slowed down, and Sam says, I'll, I'll take this one here, I know this one.' Sam pronounced the name , 'Takitaki Takawa'. And the bus driver said, 'No', this is such and such and he pronounced the name of the town.

"Sam said, 'No, the sign is over there - the sign says Takawa'. And the bus driver nearly fell out of his seat. He said, 'That's a food shop. The sign says, take away'."

Broncos director and fellow Maroons great Darren Lockyer also recounted a story he had heard about Backo, even though he did not know him as well as Lewis.

"The one I always remember was the one where he went to the physio, and he's getting treatment for a cork and you've got those machines," Lockyer said.

"You put the like the little round things on your leg, and the physio said, 'You just turn that dial up so you're, you're comfortable, but it's giving you a bit of movement so we can stimulate the muscle'.

"And he goes, 'Yeah, righto'. And then she walks away, comes back, and because there's a couple of machines there he's cranking the dial up and he going, 'Oi this ain't working'.

"So she comes back over and she goes, that's because you're twisting the wrong dial, there's like a little kid on the next bed with his leg up and he's just copping it."