{"id":471321,"date":"2026-02-10T20:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/471321\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T20:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:30:12","slug":"fittler-and-inglis-hog-boughton-oval-as-the-nrl-hogs-national-tour-rolls-into-moree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/471321\/","title":{"rendered":"Fittler and Inglis hog Boughton Oval as the NRL HOGS national tour rolls into Moree"},"content":{"rendered":"

MORE than 100 kids and just as many adults sidestepped their way onto Boughton Oval on Monday afternoon to get some hands-on rugby league advice from some of the best in the business.<\/p>\n

NRL legends Brad Fittler and Greg Inglis joined current NRL Women\u2019s stars Yasmin Meakes and Olivia Higgins at Boughton Oval in Moree as part of the NRL HOGS national tour, a series of clinics rolled out across the eastern seaboard this month.<\/p>\n

Brad \u201cFreddy\u201d Fittler, a celebrated five-eighth who won premierships with Penrith Panthers in 1991 and Sydney Roosters in 2002, represented Australia 38 times. He coached the Sydney Roosters from 2007-2009 and led the NSW Blues to three State of Origin series\u2019 wins in 2018, 2019 and 2021.<\/p>\n

Greg Inglis, inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame in 2024, is widely recognised as one of the greatest players of his generation.<\/p>\n

He helped win three NRL premierships, played 39 Tests for Australia as well as 32 Origin games for Queensland.<\/p>\n

Yasmin Meakes is a current NRLW player who captains the Newcastle Knights, and plays alongside Olivia Higgins.<\/p>\n

The HOGS National Tour, presented by Westpac and led by Fittler, left Penrith at the weekend, and pulled into Gunnedah Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fantastic at Gunnedah,\u201d Fittler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a clinic in the afternoon, which was awesome, with a heap of kids turning up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fittler, a NSW PCYC ambassador, was impressed by the Boughton Oval roll-up, given drizzle and showers persisted during the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great afternoon, and the field was in good nick,\u201d Fittler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I really noticed, is there were a lot of passionate coaches \u2013 some of the older kids and some of the parents, who are invested in the clubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was good to chat with them about coaching and the specifics of coaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic every time we see so many kids knocking about like this. It\u2019s a shame we don\u2019t get the adults doing the same exercises \u2013 maybe next year,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n

The tour will travel to regional New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria in the next two or three weeks to celebrate rugby league in local communities and promote junior participation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NRL HOGS national tour has grown into something really special over the years, and every time we hit the road we\u2019re reminded of how much these regional communities mean to rugby league,\u201d Fittler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids turn up in huge numbers, families get involved, and whole towns rally around the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we couldn\u2019t wait to get back out there again this year and connect with the people who keep our game strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll also visit local businesses, PCYC Clubs and Westpac branches along the way to connect with the broader community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWestpac has backed this tour year after year, and we\u2019re extremely grateful for their support in helping us bring it to life again in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam Webster and Alex Roseby, from the Moree Westpac Service Centre, were on the sidelines on Monday to hand over $3000 worth of footballs to Moree Boars and Moree Boomerangs rugby league clubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to thank Freddy and all the Hogs for coming out to Moree, and thanks for all they do for grassroots footy across the country,\u201d Roseby said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to everyone, not just the people here today, but the whole community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moree Giants Junior Rugby League Club president Steve Cory said the HOGS\u2019 visit was a big couple of days for Moree.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great to have HOGS come to Moree, especially to do a clinic for the Moree Giants and all the kids,\u201d Cory said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a wonderful turn-out, despite a bit of rain during the afternoon. A lot of people came down to see Brad and Greg, and they ran a few drills and fun games for the kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was especially pleasing to see a wide range of ages, from four-year-olds up to 18-year-olds.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoree is a big rugby league town. It was great to see this type of event organised for the whole community, and we hope to see more events like it in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was also wonderful to get such a kind donation of footballs, and a lot of them, from Westpac,\u201d Cory said.<\/p>\n

The Moree leg of the tour included a visit to Moree PCYC and the Moree Westpac Service Centre Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

THE HOGS national tour will cover 7500 kilometres, from Bundaberg in Queensland to Cooma in New South Wales, and southward to Warrnambool in Victoria.<\/p>\n

Across the journey, Fittler and his team will visit more than 20 heartland towns, deliver more than 15 community clinics, connect with PCYC clubs and Westpac branches, and stop at local businesses that represent the true spirit of rugby league.<\/p>\n

The HOGS national rally was launched about 15 years ago, when a group of motorcycling NRL stars were recruited to raise money for Father Chris Riley\u2019s incredible Youth off the Streets program.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, Laurie Daley was named coach of Origin and I was on his staff, and he came up with this idea to build up some interest,\u201d Fittler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNathan Hindmarsh loves motorbikes, Ian Schoobert loves motorbikes, and I like motorbikes so we decided to get some blokes together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chased up sponsors and we started raising money for Father Chris Riley. We went around country towns and ended up raising just under a million bucks,\u201d Fittler said.<\/p>\n

In the early days, the HOGS\u2019 riders would sleep on the footy fields in each town.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d take swags and sleep out. At the same time, NSW Rugby League and the NRL put some group training organisations together to have clinics at different towns, and that\u2019s pretty much how it got set up,\u201d Fittler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d call people in the local clubs and organise functions, so we\u2019d do a clinic with the kids and then do a function that night, and raise some money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Westpac general manager of retail banking, Damian MacRae, said the HOGS get to regional areas to share the passion and excitement of the game beyond the big cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat excites us is the chance to give young people in regional towns a close-up experience with rugby league,\u201d MacRae said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSport brings people together, and the HOGS Tour is about celebrating our regions and inspiring participation in the game at all levels with access to role models like Brad.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Club Rugby League registrations open, HOGS will create an opportunity for young kids to test their skills, build confidence and make connections with local clubs, while promoting the importance of winter sport to stay active and build friendships.<\/p>\n

Off the field, the HOGS national tour is designed to captivate, motivate, and celebrate the profound connection between rugby league and the community.<\/p>\n

Collaborating with PCYC New South Wales, HOGS is set to provide a safe space to engage and empower young people. For more information, visit Play Rugby League HOGS Tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MORE than 100 kids and just as many adults sidestepped their way onto Boughton Oval on Monday afternoon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,159,85],"class_list":["post-471321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-rugby-league","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}