The former Canterbury, NSW and ustralian halfback hails from one of the code’s most famous families, and while his nickname of ‘Turvey’ eminates from growing up in Wagga Wagga, he revealed he has a significant link to the central west as well.

“My dad and his family lived on a farm between Dubbo and Gilgandra, so the area is special to my family” he said.

“Unfortunately Dad passed away 11 years ago but I will have my uncle Kevin coming down as my guest for the evening, which I’m really looking forward to.

“That’s the great thing about what the Men Of League does. As well as helping out former players and their families they bring people back together who may not have seen each other for a number of years.”

Mortimer wore the famous blue and white jersey of Canterbury on 272 occasions between 1972 and 1988.

He also played nine times for Australia, and footage of him crying after he captained NSW to its first State of Origin series win over Queensland in 1985 is one of the game’s most-used pieces of historical footage.

“I was blessed to do what I did in rugby league, and I suppose I'm blessed all these years later that people want to talk to me about it,” he said.

“I’m really honoured to be speaking at this function in Dubbo, and to be there alongside the likes of Craig Young, Steve Edge, Greg Conescu and Wally Fullerton-Smith is great.

“They’re all great blokes, terrific speakers and we have three New South Welshmen to two Queenslanders so we have strength in numbers, so we’ll be able to rub it in a bit.

“I haven’t been to Dubbo for a long, long time but I remember I actually played there for Riverina when I was a kid at Kooringal School back in the 1960s.”

While the Men of League’s primary mission is to look after players and their families that fall on hard times, Saturday night’s function will also be used as a tool to raise some funds for those affected by the bushfires near Dunedoo.

 “That’s another example of how the Men Of League just chip in to help wherever they can,” he said.

“I’d actually love to see the NRL develop a closer link with the Men Of League, because they should go hand-in-hand and I think eventually that will happen.

“The organisation helps so many people, and there’s not too many people that need help more at the moment than those people who have lost so much in those fires.”

Tickets for Saturday night’s dinner are $80 each ($640 for a table of eight) and are available by contacting Dubbo RSL Club on 6882 4411 or by visiting the club itself.