Sydney Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary is confident the club's new Emergency Services Event can grow into a marquee fixture on the same level as their annual ANZAC Day clash.
The team launched the new initiative in partnership with the NSW government and the state's eight emergency services association on Tuesday morning.
The Roosters will host the Raiders in an NRL and NRLW double-header at Allianz Stadium on Sunday September 1, with the NSW Police to take on Australian Firefighters in a curtain raiser.
The plan is to grow the event each year and for it to become a marquee fixture in the calendar.
Keary has played in five ANZAC Day games throughout his career and said the round has the potential to develop into one of the biggest of the regular season.
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"It would be awesome if it did," he told NRL.com. "It would be really cool to give the emergency services a day where we think about them as a game, a community and a country.
"Even in our area this year with the Bondi Junction attack, it's affected us quite personally as a community and a club. To be able to give a little bit back and shine a light on all of the different emergency services is pretty special."
The Roosters came up with the idea to give back to emergency services after a number of interactions with the organisations throughout the past few years.
The team's leagues clubs have faced flooding in Kingswood and Berkley, with the SES helping to minimise the damage.
The Bondi Junction knife attack was also felt by all at the Roosters and took place metres from Easts Leagues Club.
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Keary said it was a difficult situation for the team to process but an important reminder of the sacrifices those on the front line make to protect the community.
"It was horrible for the country but in particular our community," he said. "A few days after it happened we went down as a team.
"The boys were passionate about going down and showing a bit of respect, showing the community we're with them too and hurting just as much as the wider community at that time."
While all eight associations will be celebrated on the day, the annual event will see one organisation provided a greater platform to showcase the wide-ranging work they do in the community.
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This year it will be the NSW Police Force who have that opportunity with officers to abseil from the roof of Allianz Stadium and a number of divisions to be on display.
NSW Premier Chris Minns praised the Roosters for coming up with the initiative and hopes the event will encourage members of the community to join an emergency services association.
"This is a fantastic initiative, this is exactly what we need in NSW right now," Minns said. "I congratulate the Roosters for reaching out to emergency services in NSW.
"It's a bit of recognition ... for the people who devote their time, their energy and sometimes personal sacrifice to emergency services. We can't run our police force, our firefighting department, our ambulance and paramedic services, as well as the volunteer agencies without people prepared to do extraordinary things.
"More often than not during their careers as a frontline worker, they'll be asked to put themselves second and someone else first. In extreme cases they may be asked to put their life on the line for a complete stranger.
"You have to think about the psychology of people who are prepared to do that. They are community-minded individuals, they care about their neighbours, they love the fact they live in Australia and NSW and they're prepared to put something back in."
