NRL great Terry Campese is confident his community links will help him secure the regional seat of Monaro for Labor in the upcoming NSW state election.
Mr Campese captained the Canberra Raiders from 2010 to 2014 and has represented NSW in State of Origin and Australia internationally.
Announcing his candidacy for preselection at his former Queanbeyan primary school alongside Labor leader Chris Minns, Mr Campese said he had a steep learning curve ahead of him.
"I loved doing community work during my time at the Canberra Raiders, setting up the Terry Campese foundation in 2012, making a difference for our community ... and now I see this as a next step in making a bigger impact," Mr Campese told reporters on Sunday.
"I can't wait to get out into the community and meet everyone and and see what their priorities are."
The regional seat of Monaro, spanning Queanbeyan to Cooma, was formerly held by former Nationals leader and deputy premier John Barilaro prior to his 2021 resignation.
If successful in gaining preselection, Mr Campese will run against current Nationals MP Nichole Overall who won the by-election in February.
The Queanbeyan local admitted he had always been a swing voter but in the past five years he had aligned more with Labor's values and recently joined the party.
Asked if he had been inspired by former Wallaby turned independent ACT senator David Pocock, Mr Campese said the pair shared a passion for their communities.
With less than 100 days until the election, Mr Minns acknowledged Monaro would be a tough seat for Labor to win.
But he said genuine activists should have the opportunity to represent their communities in parliament.
"We need more community people involved in politics, it shouldn't be the domain of professional politicians," he said.
"Terry said he's got a steep learning curve but no one is going to pull the wool over his eyes about this town and this community, he knows about it like the back of his hand."
Mr Minns said while his new candidate's name recognition would be helpful to Labor's campaign, voters would make the final choice.
"We're under no illusions about how difficult the next election campaign will be and neither is Terry, but we entered this contest humble and hungry," he said.
"Regional communities need someone who's got a profile, who can fight for their township and not get lost in the crowd."
Mr Campese started his namesake foundation in 2012 with the aim of building brighter futures for young people.
Since leaving the NRL he has remained active in the sport by serving as captain-coach of Queanbeyan Blues since 2017 as well as commentating on Raiders games on local radio.
Mr Campese has acted as an ambassador for several charities including Canteen Cancer, the Ronald McDonald House and a Patron of Raising Hope Education Foundation and continues to work with the NRL on their roads to regions projects.
