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Roosters youngster Blake Steep has become used to seeing Rural Fire Service trucks rolling through the streets of Port Macquarie.
Whether it be raging bush fires or rapidly rising floodwaters, the RFS is typically the first port of call for locals requiring help in a natural disaster.
But after the immediate threat subsides, the trucks, and the volunteers who man them, remain on the ground to help the SES with the clean-up operation that follows. It's the less glamorous and much lower-profile side of a service that provides a lifeline to regional communities.
The Roosters are preparing to celebrate the tireless work of first responders when they host the Cowboys at Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon in the club's second annual Emergency Services Match.
While all eight agencies are acknowledged, a different unit takes centre-stage each year. Last year it was the NSW Police Force and the spotlight will be on the RFS this weekend.
Having grown up in a house on the banks of the Hastings River in Port Macquarie, Steep has seen firsthand the important role the RFS plays during and after natural disasters. He received another timely reminder on a recent trip home after the last month's Mid-North Coast floods.
"Taree got hit pretty hard," Steep said. "I was driving back there not long ago and I saw a lot of the Rural Fire Service trucks helping out after it had passed.
"They would have been helping during the floods and then afterwards as well. There's a lot of clean up to do because there's sicks and mud everywhere.
"We are right on the Hastings River so we always flood when it rises. It's difficult living in a flood zone, I was home for the last one so I was able to help out so I felt a bit better but this time I was [in Sydney].
"I was talking to mum every couple of hours and seeing how high it was getting, if it was getting up to the steps. Once it eventually did get to the steps they had [moved] everything out so it was fortunate."
All eight of the state's emergency response agencies will host activations at the ground, with sites to be set up on Driver Ave.
The match ball will be delivered by an RFS helicopter, while there will also be a pre-game motorcade and volunteers will be honoured on the field.
The players will wear special warm-up tops on Sunday afternoon, with the shirts to be auctioned off and funds donated to the RFS Benevolent Fund.
The concept was initially floated by Roosters chairman Nick Politis, with CEO Joe Kelly working hard to establish the match in the wake of last year's Bondi Junction tragedy.
Match: Roosters v Cowboys
Round 16 -
home Team
Roosters
5th Position
away Team
Cowboys
12th Position
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
"The emergency services do such a wonderful job supporting our community and keeping us safe in times of need," Kelly said. "They're generally the first on the scene.
"We saw recently with the floods in Northern NSW the support they provided local communities. Last year it was much closer to home in Bondi Junction with the stabbing and the police emergency that unfolded there.
"These services are important, they're mostly volunteer organisations and they've touched each and every one of us within our communities. It's nice to acknowledge them and say thank you."
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Blake Steep Try
A rising lock forward with the Roosters, Steep was personally touched by another branch of the emergency services during the off-season.
The 20-year-old was spearfishing with his dad Brent at the remote Delicate Nobby near Crescent Head when he had a heart-attack.
Paramedics and police launched a coordinated rescue operation and Brent later travelled to Sydney for triple bypass surgery.
While his father has since recovered, Steep recognises the outcome would have been different if it wasn't for the work of the ambulance officers.
"We're really grateful for the paramedics," Steep said. "It was a pretty big day earlier in the year. They were very responsive and helped save my dad's life.
"To get someone there to an isolated area so quickly and then to get dad off the rocks and back on to the beach, by the time I got back he was already hooked up and they were monitoring him.
"They played a really important role in our lives and a lot of people don't know half the things that they do so they are very important."
Steep made his NRL debut for the Roosters against the Cowboys midway through last season and is preparing to play his 17th game when the two sides face off on Sunday afternoon.
The youngster has impressed with his development and ability to handle the rough and tumble as a middle forward in the NRL.
Steep has played every game this season, coming off the bench as an impact forward. The lock is averaging 77 running metres a game with 12 tackle breaks so far this year.
The most pleasing aspect for the Roosters has been the way Steep stepped up when the side's Origin players were missing, helping the team win both matches without their stars.
"He's a good country kid and moves across the ground really well," teammate Billy Smith said. "He's got some low-key great footwork that you don't usually see in the middle and he's been doing an awesome job for us.
"He's still so young, we forget that at times and he's been great for us. Week in, week out he's been doing his job consistently and in a lot of games he's broken the game open for us. I'm looking forward to seeing his development."
