NRL Announces 34 Community Advocates

The National Rugby League (NRL) has announced a list of 34 male and female players as community advocates throughout 2019.

The community advocates, including Michael Morgan, Ruan Sims, David Klemmer, Kezie Apps, Christian Welch and others, will work to support the NRL’s community programs, ‘State of Mind’ and ‘Voice Against Violence’.

NRL head of government and community relations, Jaymes Boland-Rudder, said he congratulates the players on their commitment to support their communities for valuable causes.

“Our ‘State of Mind’ and ‘Voice Against Violence’ programs are two of the most important in our game, dealing with issues that impact many communities,” Mr Boland-Rudder said.

“We will continue to use our collective voice across Australia and abroad to promote our work within communities and I want to thank the player advocates that have committed to amplifying awareness of mental wellbeing and violence prevention.

“I also want to thank our expert partners who lead our training and provide guidance to player advocates and our community team.

“With topics such as mental health and domestic violence, it’s crucial that we work closely to ensure our education, training and prevention is correct as we reach out to those that are part of our game – from fans to players; grassroots to our elite athletes,” he said.

Of the 34 players listed as community advocates for 2019, 13 are first-time advocates for these campaigns.

The full list of players includes:

NRL State of Mind player advocates

• Darius Boyd (Broncos)
• Jayden Okunbor (Bulldogs)
• Siliva Havili (Raiders)
• Josh Dugan (Sharks)
• Dale Copley and Michael Gordon (Titans)
• Joel Thompson (Sea Eagles)
• Christian Welch and Dale Finucane (Storm)
• Hymel Hunt (Knights)
• Michael Morgan (Cowboys)
• Daniel Alvaro and David Gower (Eels)
• Frank Winterstein and Wayde Egan (Panthers)
• Dane Gagai (Rabbitohs)
• Tariq Sims (Dragons)
• Angus Crichton and Simaima Taufa (Roosters)
• Paul Momirovski (Wests Tigers)
• Ruan Sims, Maddie Studdon and Sam Bremner (NRLW players)

NRL Voice Against Violence player advocates

• Alex Glenn (Broncos)
• Aiden Tolman (Bulldogs)
• Joseph Tapine (Raiders)
• Kyle Flanagan (Sharks)
• Maxwell King and Michael Gordon (Titans)
• Christian Welch (Storm)
• David Klemmer (Knights)
• Jake Granville (Cowboys)
• Daniel Alvaro and David Gower (Eels)
• Frank Winterstein (Panthers)
• Braidon Burns (Rabbitohs)
• Kezie Apps (Dragons)
• Simaima Taufa (Roosters)
• Ryan Matterson and Josh Aloiai (Tigers)