Former players Mitchell Allgood and Frank Winterstein arrive at Leichhardt's Blackmore Oval on a cold, windy night armed with a football and key statistics as they prepare to deliver the latest session of the NRL's Voice Against Violence program.
It's one of hundreds of sessions that have taken place across Australia and the Pacific throughout the past few years to empower the rugby league community to take action to prevent violence against women and children.
Park footy grounds are a long way from the bright lights of the NRL, but it's where the true power of the sport to leave a lasting, positive impact on communities lies.
On this occasion, around 50 boys and girls aged 16-18 from the Leichhardt Wanderers have turned out to participate in a Voice Against Violence session.
For Allgood, every visit to a community club or a local school is a chance use the language of rugby league to leave a lasting impression on the next generation.
"Our actions on the field or during our career can give our words more weight off it," Allgood told ljmpta.com. "If we can use that for a good cause and if there's an opportunity to create that change by delivering this message, then we have a duty to do so.
"We get out on the field, we're doing movement-based learning, we're engaging and delivering some messages along the way. We're delivering statistics and we're giving them an understanding of how they can create change in their community and we're doing that with a football in their hands."
The Voice Against Violence program has been designed to use rugby league to engage with the community in a way people of all ages can relate to.
The use of former players such as Allgood, Frank Winterstein and Kevin Naiqama draws instant respect and establishes a familiarity that allows the trio to hold difficult conversations about violence and respectful relationships.
Rather than sitting in a room and listening passively, participants are taken to a field to engage in drills that showcase the importance of communication, balance and equality in relationships.
The NRL's Social Impact team will run 20 sessions across NSW throughout the year in partnership with the Department of Community and Justice.
Presentations are tailored based on the age of participants, with an NRL League Stars Inspire Respect workshop delivered to primary school students.
The Voice Against Violence program is targeted at those aged 16 and over with a focus on empowering young adults, senior men and women in community clubs to stand up, speak out and take action against gender-based violence.
"The Department of Communities and Justice is very pleased to support Voice Against Violence in 2025 as part of the Tackling Violence program," a spokesperson said. "Tackling Violence is a flagship program which works with local rugby league teams and the broader community to reinforce healthy messages about gender equality and respectful relationships.
"Tackling Violence is also part of the NSW Government’s Primary Prevention Strategy, ‘Pathways to Prevention’, which was launched in 2024. Sport is a central part of the strategy because of the vital role it plays in communities in NSW."
A key aspect of the program involves helping the participants establish an action plan for their club or school to commit to strategies to achieve positive change.
This ensures the impact of the Voice Against Violence program extends beyond a single session and NRL Social Impact team members check in on the participants to follow up on their progress.
The Leichhardt Wanderers' action plan involved raising money for domestic violence charities and Under 18 captain Amram Paita-Pepo said the session highlighted the importance of open conversations about domestic violence.
"Using footy as a way to deliver the massage and get us more involved rather than just sitting down and listening was a really good tool," Paita-Pepo said.
"The statistics shocked a lot of people. Violence that isn't really spoken about really came to light."
"We learned that not speaking about issues won't help resolve them. We learnt how to identify some of those issues and a way to talk about it if you do find yourself in those positions."
