Former Canberra Raiders forward Alan Tongue delivered a powerful program to our local future rugby league stars and the region’s potential leaders when he visited New England this week.
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As part of the National Rugby League’s Voice Against Violence initiative, Tongue, along with NRL Community Team Leader Emily Latu and Country Rugby League’s Dennis Moran, presented the program 16 to 18-year-old players to encourage them to stand up, speak out and take action against domestic violence.
One in three women in Australia have experienced physical violence and Tongue said rugby league clubs provide powerful platforms to make a change in society.
“It is a great way to have a conversation by using our common language of rugby league,” he said.
“I really believe our game can be a real leader of change in this space and if we can lay a great platform in our football clubs that will filter back into our families, our communities, our schools and other circles of mates.
“I have seen the power of change being delivered through our football clubs and I am a big believer that we can do it with the Voice Against Violence program.
“I hope the participants that come through this program, the young men, get an understanding of the issues that we do have in our communities, in our country and in our world and ways they can stand up against it, ways they can safely do it and be the leaders of change and understanding that them as individuals, they can be the leaders of that.”
Since retiring from professional football in 2011, Tongue has dedicated his time to educating youth on eliminating domestic violence from society.
The players participated in activities and were presented with scenarios and videos on the importance of it.
Wiping out domestic is something the former Country representative feels passionately about and was introduced to the program by another ex-player in David Peachey.
“He asked me to be part of the program when I first retired, we were doing some work with the NRL's community department,” he said.
“Having three daughters myself, the stats on one in three women being affected by physical violence is a stat that frightens me as a father/
“It is something that is totally unacceptable and has fuelled this passion that I have got now.
“I am just passionate about rugby league and grateful for the opportunities it has given to me and it is a way of me giving back to it using our game to connect with these junior football clubs to get a really important message across.
“It is combining a number of different passions of mine to deliver this message.”
The program has been shown both across Australia and internationally.