Alan Tongue to be the keynote speaker at Orange Anglican Grammar School's sports awards night

That determination and grit has transferred to his life off the field, where he's changing lives through his ambassador role with the NRL, delivering seminars and clinics relating to the Voice against Violence, State of Mind and In League In Harmony initiatives.

Tongue will bring his knowledge to Orange Anglican Grammar School (OAGS) on November 8, where he'll be the keynote speaker at its Sports Awards Evening which recognises the representative achievements of students as well as club awards for its five club sports. He'll also run a touch football clinic and classroom workshops.

When it comes to the programs Tongue delivers, the Canberra Raiders legend doesn't like sticking to the norm. He wants his students to be active and completing tasks in a practical sense.

However, it took some time for the defensive weapon to realise this.

In 2011, Tongue decided his 220-game career must come to an end. Following his decision, he attended a church in Belconnen where they asked him to go to a youth juvenile justice centre and deliver a program.

On that fateful Sunday afternoon, only two kids turned up out of the 25 in the centre.

It left him devastated.

But one of the workers reminded him about the power of sport.

"He said to me 'you've got a pretty good story but if you brought some footys in you would've had every one of these kids," Tongue recounted.

He went back, with football in hand, and had every kid engaged.

It set him on the path he's currently on.

"I shared the story of my life and journey through footy skills - out of that the centre asked me to put together a program," he said.

"I put together an eight-week program that went into an aspire program with the NRL and I've been part of the NRL ever since. We've created a number of different programs out of that first juvenile justice centre."

Tongue's role with the NRL sees him travel to various regions across Australia and the pacific nations.

His work expands over a number of programs which sees him visit schools and sporting clubs, spreading a message of resilience and quality of life.

But while his background is in rugby league, his focus isn't on fostering the pathway on any NRL club.

"My job at the NRL isn't to create more rugby league players, that's not what I'm about," he said.

"It's to create better people through the game of rugby league.

"It doesn't matter if you've touched the footy 100 times or it's the first time you've done it - I'm all about trying to generate that interest and connection through sport, that's a big part of what I do."

Out of the knowledge gained from Tongue's early experience delivering programs, he's doubled down on the importance of sport in shaping lives.

Throughout his own life, a lot of the lessons learnt have been through rugby league. Every hit comes with resilience, it's all about getting back up again.

That's why his programs aren't simply down to theory, he likes to be interactive and puts an emphasis on physical activity.

"I think about my life, everything I've learnt has been through rugby league as a young kid, and what I value and instill in my kids lives (goes back to then)," he said.

"When I go into work, what I uphold is everything to do with sport; being part of a team, being honest, taking on feedback, learning and growing from experiences I've been part of, dealing with losses and challenges, all of those things I've been able to learn through sport and farming."

So with that Tongue goes by the old adage: actions speak louder than words.

"Words are important ... but one of the really important things I've seen with young kids is the importance of putting that into an activity ... not just a power-point presentation but actually (giving lessons) through an experience," he said.

"The majority of programs we deliver are on the footy field, it's not something that's foreign to us, it's our common language.

"We talk about resilience, growth, honesty and all these values that I 100 per cent agree with it but it's about putting those into practice.

"I'm excited to connect with the young people there (at OAGS) and learn about their journey and the role sport plays in just being a better person. It's not about being the best at your sport, of course you always strive for the best, but it's about learning and growing from everything sport throws at us, that's the main message I want to bring.

"It's a school that has a waiting list, a school that really invests in the community and has a real vision for that area which is really important ... to be asked to speak at a school that has that standing in the community puts a little pressure on me so I'm privileged to be asked."

It's become a common story among rugby league circles about the struggle some players have in adjusting to the world outside of it.

For Tongue, as a one-club player, his life had a consistency where he pulled on the green jersey every season.

A country kid at heart, the former Raiders skipper now lives north of Canberra on a property with his family.

For him, the key to adjusting was all about finding a role that suited him, and by commentating with the ABC he found that sweet spot.

"One of the things ABC commentary helped me with personally was being able to have that role when you turned up to game," he said.

"I'd been to a couple of games where I hadn't had that job to do so you turn up and worry thinking 'am I a fan? A player? What am I here for?

"But I know with the ABC that I turn up to a game with a role to play.

"It's no different to retiring from any career, whatever workforce you're in it's still good to be involved and have a connection to the community.

"Being involved with the NRL as an ambassador gave me that space."

And as he's emphasised, the lessons learnt in rugby league provided him with the perfect knowledge to deal with life post-football.

"Footy taught me if you put your best foot forward, if you ripped in, worked hard and put everything into what you're doing then new doors would open," he said.

"I took that mentality into my retirement - I've been fortunate that doors have opened because of that.

"That's why I'm so grateful to rugby league for what it's taught me, it's helped me transition into the game but also transition out of the game."

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