The Canberra Raiders' bushfire relief plan is starting to take shape and it's set to go beyond the NRL opening round to include their game in Wagga Wagga as well.
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They're planning to support the areas that have been affected by the bushfires, including the Riverina, the Snowy Mountains, the NSW south coast and Canberra.
It comes as the NRL has added a free concert, headlined by ARIA award-winner Amy Shark, to conclude their three-day festival of football at Bega on February 29.
The concert will follow the pre-season trial between the Penrith Panthers and the Parramatta Eels, which was shifted to the south coast to not only provide a spiritual lift, but an economic boost as well.
Canberra are in talks with the Wagga City Council about what they can do for their round-six clash against the Newcastle Knights there on April 18.
They want to involve and acknowledge the fire-affected towns, like Batlow, at the game.
The Raiders are also using their junior camps as a way to try and help fire-affected areas.
Their Jersey Flegg under-20s squad will head down to Moruya next weekend for a camp, which will include an open training session - provided it's not affected by bushfires.
They'd planned to send their under-18 boys and girls, and their under-16 boys squads down to the south coast over the Australia Day weekend, but they were forced to cancel due to the fires.
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It's part of a raft of activities the Raiders are expecting to finalise in the coming weeks.
Canberra chief operating officer Jason Mathie said their plans for their round-one game against the Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium on March 13 were well advanced.
He said they were also developing a far-reaching plan to cover multiple events throughout the year, with the details still to be finalised.
"The club's commitment to giving people some respite from what has been a terrible Christmas-New Year period is to put together a series of activities that are not short term, but are rolled out over the course of the year so that we can hopefully bring some smiles to people's faces," Mathie said.
The NRL's concert will be held on the cricket ground adjacent to the Bega Recreation Ground - where the Panthers and Eels will play earlier in the day.
It was originally meant to be played in Penrith, but has been shifted to the south coast to encourage tourists to return to the beleaguered area.
It's the same venue the Raiders played their pre-season trial against Canterbury at last year.
"I love this game and understand the positive difference it can make to regional communities," Shark said.
"This concert is an opportunity to bring people together and provide a sense of hope and optimism - something which is so important during these tough times."