If you’re wondering how you can support struggling communities on the New South Wales South Coast, then this is it.

In support of the rural towns ravaged by devastating bushfires, the Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels NRL teams will play a trial match in the Bega Valley this weekend.

NSW Transport Minister and Member for Bega, Andrew Constance tells Ben Fordham this event is “going to go off”.

“It’s going to be fantastic for the hotels, the clubs and the pubs… the pie shops and the fish and chip shops.

“It’s getting everyone’s minds off what happened, and that’s the best thing about it, we’re not thinking about fires for five minutes.”

Both teams have mingled with the locals throughout the week in the lead up to the match.

“To tell you how good these guys have all been…they’ve been going into our schools, they have been lifting the spirits of our littlies,” says Mr Constance.

“I heard of one beautiful story where a child has gone from drawing pictures of the bushfires, to pictures of army trucks, to now pictures of football players and footballs.”

Click play below to listen to the full interview

The 2GB Continuous Call Team will mark their first show on-air for 2020 with a special broadcast from Bega.

They will be down there as part of the Festival of Footy and will call the trial match from 2pm to 6pm, Saturday.

All ticket sales from the event will go to the Salvation Army Rural Assistance Appeal.

Although official tickets to the trial match have sold out, fans who didn’t get a ticket can still enjoy the atmosphere and entertainment at a live site on George Griffin Memorial Oval – next to the Bega Recreation Ground.

From 12pm on Saturday, the live zone will feature a big screen to show the trial action as well as various food stalls, bars, and a Kids Zone.

Image: Getty / Scottshotz