Singe promotes Pacific cyber safety

Sea Eagles head strength and conditioning coach Donny Singe believes the NRL's mission to teach kids throughout the Pacific Islands the importance of internet safety is a credit to our game.

Singe is travelling through Tonga and Samoa supporting the Australian Federal Police's Cyber Safety Pasifika project.

He and a group of NRL players and officials including Nigel Vagana, Roy Asotasi, Caleb Timu , Jayson Bukuya, Etuate Uaisele and Keith Galloway, will deliver workshops to school children across the region as as well as public and private sectors such as church groups, small business, sporting clubs and youth groups.

Singe said the rapid rise in internet access across the community makes it very vulnerable and welfare projects such as these are absolutely essential.

"I've been with the NRL now for 10 years with the Sea Eagles and we've had our issues in the past with things coming up over that cybernet and it just seemed a really appropriate education for the men.

"We've all realised that the Pacific has a really fast rate of growth on the cybernet. Obviously that's going to be quite an extensive ground for anybody to be either educated in how to use it properly and how to use it wisely.

"But it's also a good time for us to go over there and educate people on the pitfalls and the dangers of other people accessing your information."

Having NRL players deliver these lessons provides a great connection with the kids, Singe said, but also gives back to the communities that contribute so much to our game.

"Obviously one of the big things in the Pacific Islands is sport so by taking the NRL there and the calibre of these players, all very successful NRL players, it gives us a really good step into the schools and it creates a really good interest.

"To see these players who have come out and are successful and have made their way but also have access on a daily basis on Twitter and Facebook, so they have the same access as these kids that we're going to talk to.

"They're great examples of how to beware and take care and avoid the problems that might come from the cybernet."

The welfare tour travelled through Tonga from October 24-26 before moving to Samoa, where they will finish up tomorrow.