Cyber safety a key message in Road to Regions program

The danger of cyber bullying online is one of many reasons more than a dozen NRL and NRLW representatives travelled to regional and interstate areas in February as part of the game's Road to Regions program.

With the risks of social media at an all-time high, some of the games biggest stars visited schools and local communities in remote areas across New South Wales and Queensland to help spread key messages around cyber safety.

St George Illawarra centre Euan Aitken travelled to Dubbo for the four-day program and was amazed at the amount of primary school children that had a mobile phone in their possession.

"They're the rugby league heartland so don't get much of a chance to become NRL players or have much to do with them so it's a great initiative to get out there," Aitken told NRL.com.

"You forget the country region sometimes but they do really appreciate it when we visit. Sometimes as a player you have more of a presence in a young person's life than you think and they take in what you say and do.

"There's also the added message that being active and living in the real world is positive and better for your health.

"It's good to make friends and actually live in the real world instead of on our phones or on the PlayStation all the time."

Aitken's commitment to the program coincides with the Dragons' Illawarra school blitz that is taking place across February with players visiting areas in St George, the Illawarra and Central West regions in NSW to deliver similar messages.

Sydney Roosters NRLW star Isabelle Kelly spent time further north in areas around Grafton and Coffs Harbour over three days.

"It was surprising when Nu (injured Bulldogs utility Fa'amanu Brown) and I were heading along and we had pre-meditated thoughts whether primary school kids would know much about cyber safety or have Facebook and the internet," Kelly said.

"A lot of them do these days and it's important they learn young what is good and bad online."

Kelly is no stranger to social media.

Winner of the inaugural women's RLIF Golden Boot award in 2018, Kelly is experiencing a rise in her fame with her performances captured on television reaching a wider audience and raising her public profile.

The 22-year-old has 35,000 followers on Instagram and those numbers have brought an increase to comments made on her page.

"It's a big thing when you start to get a name and people want to connect or comment on your stuff," Kelly said.

"People create fake accounts and it's quite a popular thing. I can only imagine what it's like for some of the NRL's elite players when they have massive brands.

"How you respond to that is hopefully what we have helped with through the program."