As far as homecomings go, it was a pretty special one for Alan Tongue.
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The retired Canberra Raiders great, high profile voice against domestic violence, motivator of juvenile offenders and ACT Australian of the Year left his childhood home, Tamworth, on Thursday after a life and faith-affirming experience.
He enunciated the thrill of that experience through a cellphone en route to his long-time home, Canberra, with the enthusiasm of a man who suspects he has witnessed a profound idea gestate and morph into a seminal event.
Such was the tenor of the conversation with the 36-year-old married father of four after he oversaw the inaugural Scripture Union Rugby League Camp at his alma mater, Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School, from Monday till Wednesday.
The camp, which involved close to 30 Year 5-7 students, combined his Christianity with some of his other great loves: rugby league, fitness and providing a positive experience for youths.
He was named ACT Australian of the Year based on his youth mentoring and anti-domestic violence work. His workshops are used at schools, junior football clubs and juvenile and adult jails.
“In everything I do I try to be a better Christian person,” Tongue said. “The fact is, this camp is specifically designed around rugby league and that Christian environment that we do.”
It was Tongue’s mother, Janelle, who had the “vision” to create a Christian-based rugby league camp about a decade ago. At the time, Tongue was deep into his 11-year, 220-game career as a one-club player with the Raiders.
“The work we’re doing here, rugby league is our vehicle to help young people come across,” he said. “We share our faith and young people come across.
“It doesn’t mean you have to be a Christian person to come to the camp. It’s more about having fun playing rugby league, but we also share our vision and that understanding.”
He added: “My work is all about community-based work in and around rugby league – helping young people strive to be their best. I’ve had the opportunity to put this program together.
“Over the past 12 months we were working out what was the best timing (to stage the camp) and it came off the last three days, which was fantastic.”
The ex-Raiders skipper has drawn inspiration from what he described as the blossoming of the youngsters at the camp, and he was looking forward to seeing the initiative advance in the years ahead.
“I’m pretty confident that we can deliver something really special into the future,” he said. “We’re just about going about our business and trying to create that environment where we can really grow some really good young men.”
Tongue also relished the chance to return to Tamworth. “I brought all and kids and the wife (back home) and the four children got to spend time with their grandparents and cousins,” he said. “It was a quick trip, but an important one.”
