Canterbury Bulldogs star Adam Elliott delivers message for communities following bushfire season

Someone who has a fair idea of how tough it can be following such an event is Canterbury Bulldogs second-rower Adam Elliott.

His family home survived the 2018 fires in Tathra on the South Coast, but there were 69 others that didn't.

It's a similar scenario facing some residents in the Kempsey Shire local government area, where a total of 57 homes were lost during the November bushfires. Just to the south in the Port Macquarie-Hastings region 26 homes were lost, while more than 60 dwellings were lost in the Nambucca Valley.

Nearly four months on, the bushfire-affected communities of the Mid North Coast are only just starting to get back on their feet.

Elliott's message to those still suffering the after-effects of the natural disaster is a simple one.

"You're more resilient than you think you are," the National Rugby League (NRL) star said.

"I've seen that first-hand with people from my own community who probably didn't think they would be able to get through or things were so bad they could never get better.

"But there is always someone that's going to help you out, so never be too shy or ashamed to reach out to someone if you are struggling."

The 25-year-old still vividly remembers the impact the 2018 bushfires had on him personally as he tried to prepare for a game against the Warriors in Sydney.

A few hours down the road his parents and grandparents were trying to fight off flames as they roared towards them. But there was nothing he could do from the other end of the phone.

"My older brother James has autism too so I knew it would have been rattling him a fair bit; I felt so helpless," Elliott recalled.

"You don't even worry about your own safety when it comes to that, you just worry about the people you care about.

"My parents were quite confident they were going to be okay; they might lose the house, but their health was going to be okay and that was the thing that kept me going."

Tathra is now well into the rebuilding phase; what were charred remains of some parts of the town have been replaced with patches of green.

"It's really nice when you see all the houses starting to be back up and how the people around the area have been so supportive," Elliott said.

The Bulldogs backrower said you should never underestimate the resilience of small communities.

"People take the shirt off their own back to help someone that is worse off than them and I'm sure the same thing is going on up here," he said.

"It's that country spirit that you only understand when you can see and live it first-hand."

Saturday's trial match between the Bulldogs and the Canberra Raiders at Port Macquarie will double as an unofficial bushfire relief fixture with both sides to spend time putting smiles on faces around the region.

"It's a good coincidence that the game is on up here for us because in a way it can be a bushfire relief game and I think the community will love it," Elliott said.

"The kids will love being a part of it and seeing NRL players first-hand; it's the sort of thing that small communities appreciate so much more than the Average Joe.

"Bringing the game here hopefully can put a few smiles on faces and maybe earn a bit of revenue and do a bit of good for the town and the communities."