The Ampol State of Origin Shields for the Men’s and Women’s teams will head to the Shoalhaven Region tomorrow (Tuesday 4 August) as NSWRL’s Regional Roadshow embarks on its final three-day campaign for 2026 to promote road safety messages to teenagers across regional NSW.
In partnership with Transport for NSW, the Regional Roadshow is part of The Knock-On Effect campaign which reminds young people that one bad decision behind the wheel can affect an entire community, much like a knock-on in Rugby League can impact the outcome of a game.
The campaign, which started as a pilot program in 2017, has delivered road safety messages to more than 9000 participants at 52 regional areas.
The areas that have already been visited this year include Tamworth and Tweed Heads, with True Blues Kylie Hilder and Andrew Ryan, and former NRL player Tyrone Roberts, to present the final roadshow from Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 August in the Shoalhaven Region.
Ryan made 12 appearances for the Blues and was part of the squad that won back-to-back series in 2004-05, while Hilder holds the distinction of being the first female coach in the Origin era and steered the Westpac NSW Blues Women to a memorable win in 2022. She also represented NSW in Origin, which started in 2018, and interstate matches before that.
Roberts played 158 games across 12 seasons in the NRL, representing three clubs in Newcastle Knights, Gold Coast Titans and Brisbane Broncos. He has also represented the NRL Indigenous All Stars on five occasions (2015-17, 2019-20).
Ryan, Hilder and Roberts will share personal stories to spread the Knock-On Effect messaging on how they have been personally affected by incidents on the road.
The areas around the state that have been visited include Albury, Bathurst, Mudgee, Oberon, Wauchope, Blayney, Forbes, Leeton, Wagga Wagga, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Tamworth, Narromine, Griffith, Shellharbour, Maitland, Wyong, Taree, Lismore, Macksville, Queanbeyan, Kurri Kurri, Dubbo, Armidale, Eden, Narooma, Gloucester, Cowra, Young, Temora, Harden, Gunnedah and Sydney.
Other True Blues who have been involved in previous campaigns include Brett Kimmorley, Willie Mason, Matt Cooper, Steve Menzies, Ben Elias, Jamie Soward, Trent Hodkinson, Mark Hughes, Beau Scott and Luke Bailey.
