NRL community program manager Alan Tongue has expressed his desire to continue changing lives in the rugby league community and beyond as the organisation's Voice Against Violence program expands.
The program has reached nearly 2000 people across the country throughout the year, using rugby league to help prevent violence against women and children.
Tongue has driven the initiative since its inception in 2015, delivering workshops in Australia, the Torres Strait Islands, Papua New Guinea and across the Pacific.
The program's importance has grown throughout this time and the former Canberra Raiders legend said it's vital to continue using rugby league to drive positive social change.
"Rugby league changed my life when I started playing as a young kid," Tongue told NRL.com. "I'll always know how much it changed not only me but my community.
"On my journey I've been able to see that in young people's eyes where I've been able to bring a message in that might not be heard by a teacher. When someone comes in with a footy in their hands, [the children's] eyes light up, their face lights up and they're able to absorb it in a different way.
"I know the power of sport because I'm a living example of it. I see it in every workshop I deliver that it resonates, they take it on board and they understand."
Tongue has been joined by a host of former players to deliver a program established using evidenced-backed resources created alongside Our Watch and Full Stop Australia.
It was initially targeted at teenagers aged 16-18 but has now expanded to adults, with men and women engaging with the program. Voice Against Violence has also expanded to include a Respect Program delivered to primary school children to ensure individuals learn the basics of respectful relationships from a young age.
Tongue has worked closely with the Melbourne Storm this year to deliver the message throughout Victoria, with former Storm skipper Ryan Hoffman having a heavy involvement.
Other retired players including Frank Winterstein, Sia Soliola, Mitchell Allgood, Dean Whare, Joseph Paulo and Chase Stanley have also run workshops in regional areas across the country.
While they have engaged with a range of diverse communities, with individuals of various cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, they have been able to use rugby league to break down social barriers.
"When you reach out to a club about the workshop and they remember half the workshop's being done out on a footy field, they wonder how we do it," Tongue said. "But when they see it and we use that common language of sport, you can put in a movement and activity, they experience that and it shares a message and a lesson.
"The response is 'Wow, I understand how you can use the game to have these conversations'. We can use the game to make people feel comfortable and make them feel a little bit uncomfortable but most importantly it's about empowering them to know they have the opportunity to be that change and to influence this huge ripple effect they can have."
Voice Against Violence uses the rugby league setting to engage with individuals in a comfortable environment to prevent violence before it begins.
Tongue uses rugby league drills to highlight real-life situations and provide people with strategies to drive positive social change.
Wayne Green, the principal at MidCoast Christian College in Taree said it was the most engaging school program he had seen in a lengthy teaching career.
"The manner in which Alan and Joseph [Paulo] interacted and communicated with the students was extraordinary," Green said.
"The Voice Against Violence program was delivered to the school students to the highest standard and the positive feedback which we have received from the school students says it all, the consensus amongst the students was ‘It was the best real life learning experience they had ever been involved with'."
The recent coverage of high-profile domestic violence cases has seen demand for the program spike in 2024.
Some clubs now require all players to complete the workshop before they are permitted to play, while others use it as an opportunity to empower the emerging generation of players to shift their club culture.
While dismayed domestic violence remains a major societal issue, Tongue is proud the NRL's program is held to such a high regard and is determined to ensure it continues to drive positive change.
"I always want to be the go-to workshop," Tongue said. "I want to make sure we are the best primary prevention education workshop that you can get.
"We're striving to be the best with those clear, consistent messages that are backed up by our expert partners that we deliver in our rugby league way. If we can get our backyard right in regard to the quality of workshop and the quality of people who deliver it, I'm hoping the program continues to drive that change."
