Melbourne's AAMI Park is a long way from the sportsgrounds of Dubbo, but the Western NSW town will be front of mind for Matt Burton when he runs out for Friday night's showdown with the Storm.
It's where the Bulldogs five-eighth took the first steps towards a rugby league career and spent hours mastering the art of the floating bomb.
It's a kick he hopes to launch into the Melbourne air on Friday night as Canterbury chase a top-two finish.
The match will form part of Telstra Footy Country Round, with Burton quick to acknowledge the role his junior club St John's College Dubbo played in his development into an NRL star.
Perfect weather for a Burton bomb!
"As a young fella growing up, all I wanted to do was be an NRL player," Burton told 94ddz.com. "It all started with the grassroots and growing up it was always special if an NRL player came out to Dubbo.
"That inspired me to be an NRL player so it's good to give back to young kids and hopefully inspire them to be an NRL player as well.
"Dubbo is a big rugby league community and the sport brings everyone together through the tough times and the good times. It's massive that we give back to grassroots and inspire the young ones."
Match: Storm v Bulldogs
Round 25 -
home Team
Storm
2nd Position
away Team
Bulldogs
3rd Position
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Telstra Footy Country Round aims to celebrate the vital job grassroots rugby league clubs play in developing future stars and the role clubs play in uniting communities.
The round acknowledges those playing on local fields around the country and the army of volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure community clubs continue to thrive.
Telstra Footy Country Round will come to a close with a double-header at Leichhardt Oval, with Wests Tigers hosting the North Queensland Cowboys in an NRL-NRLW double on Sunday afternoon.
A host of men's and women's stars assembled at the East Hills Bulldogs clubhouse to launch the event on Tuesday morning and Wests Tigers skipper Api Koroisau, a Berala Bears junior, said it brought back fond memories of his own battles on muddy sports fields as a kid.
"Playing for Berala we played here against East Hills quite a bit growing up," Koroisau said. "It's good to bring back all those childhood memories and the friends I played with.
"Without junior rugby league there is no NRL. Every kid that plays in the NRL will come through junior footy. This is the cattle for the boys and hopefully some of these guys are going to be NRL players one day."
East Hills is a long way from home for Wests Tigers NRLW skipper Kezie Apps, who grew up playing for the Bega Roosters alongside former Sharks star Dale Finucane.
Like many girls her age, Apps had to stop playing as a teenager because there was no female competition before later picking up the sport again in Helensburgh. That is a thing of the past, with girls' participation rates surging and leagues rapidly expanding.
From Bega to NRLW Magic Round
The Jillaroos co-captain still lives in Bega in the off-season and is excited to see new pathways opening up in both Sydney and regional areas.
"Future growth comes from grassroots," Apps said. "To give back and nurture the grassroots is really important.
"They're our next crop coming through and what Telstra have done for a very long time and continue to do is support that. They support the top level but they also know how important the grassroots level is so we're really lucky that Telstra supports the game."
The NSW South Coast has long been a hotbed of rugby league talent, with Gerringong churning out players at a remarkable rate in recent times.
Eight players from the sleepy beach town are currently in the NRL, with more in the production line.
It's a history that goes all the way back to former Eels star Mick Cronin, who was a legend in the Group 7 competition before stepping up to the NSWRL and leading Parramatta to four premierships.
Cronin continues to play a big role at the Gerringong Lions and it's no surprise the club's recent dominance of the South Coast league has translated to a surge of players in the NRL.
Local talent Reuben Garrick headlines that group and he's devastated to miss Manly's clash with the Dolphins on Saturday after he injured his shoulder last weekend.
The outside back said rugby league is woven into the fabric of the Gerringong community.
"The community is based around the footy club," Garrick said. "We're out there every afternoon just having fun with our mates. You don't realise it but you're working on your craft at the same time.
"You watch every first-grade game and some of those guys in first grade always taught us the right way to do things, the commitment you've got to show. Past players who are in the NRL are always coming back to the club and showing us what it takes.
"There's the community aspect that everyone loves footy down there and the love of the game is so strong. It's what we love to see at grassroots footy."
