The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are pleased to share the Club’s Game-Changers program has received formal backing from the New South Wales Department of Education.
Game-Changers is an educational program that was launched by the Club last year, designed to equip local high school students with essential life skills.
As part of the program, students undergo sessions weekly at Belmore Sports Ground to tackle seven core topics: mental health; physical health; financial literacy; safe social media use; road safety, career planning and leadership.
On Monday, students from the local schools that participated attended a graduation ceremony at the Canterbury League Club, where a formal partnership with the Department of Education was announced by Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton, with Game-Changers now officially counting towards the NSW Stage 6 Life-Ready hours senior students are required to complete.
Jacob Preston Game Changers Media
“In 2025, we launched Game-Changers as a pilot program. We made a very conscious effort early on not to say exactly what it was but to listen, to learn and to bring people into our four walls to develop it into more than just a program,” Mr. Warburton said.
“We’ve gone from six to eleven schools. We’re growing and we’re growing with those people around us who want to give.
"A program like this doesn’t grow without partners who share our vision and today we’re proud to officially announce our partnership with the Department of Education.
This is a genuine alignment with purpose between the Football Club and the people responsible for the next generation of Australians. Together, we can reach more students, more schools and add something that complements what they’realready learning.
Murat Dizdar PSM, Secretary of the NSW Department of Education, explained how powerful it is for an NRL Club to invest in the local community.
“If you get a circle of schools, sport and community together then what you get is stronger young people who are more confident, more willing to take up leadership opportunities and they will be stronger for life beyond school,” Mr. Dizdar said.
“This is a Club that embraces its community like no other – and that’s what you need. Schools are hard at it... but if young people feel backed, they rise.
“The students today have gained some enormous skills outside of the classroom outside of learning environments, and more importantly it’s shown them what they are capable of.
I want to thank the Bulldogs for investing in stronger schools in this neck of the woods, stronger communities and for embracing young people and being in their corner.
Guests at the ceremony were treated to a Q&A from NRL players Jacob Preston and Viliame Kikau as well as NRLW player Andie Robinson.
Preston is currently studying a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, while Robinson has completed a Bachelor of Journalism. Kikau proudly launched the Kikay Academy in 2023 to help develop rugby league talent in his home country, Fiji.
Jacob Preston Game Changers Media
At the conclusion of the event, Warburton and Dizdar were joined on stage by The Honourable Chris Minns MP to unveil a plaque that celebrated the new partnership.
“This is an exciting initiative in our community, and I want to thank everyone in the Bulldogs organisation,” Mr. Minns said on stage.
“Game-Changers is all about teaching young people that so much learning happens outside of the classroom.
If you look at the courses we’re celebrating, you can see those skills that they will need for the rest of their life; being safe on roads, learning how to look after money, how to look after their mental and physical health and how to deal with everything that social media can throw at them.
Viliame Kikau Game Changers Media
“It’s fantastic to see the Bulldogs get around this community program. The Bulldogs are a community Club and so much more than a football team. They are embedded in these streets, these suburbs and these towns.
“I’m looking forward to see this program grow and prosper in the years ahead.”
