Dragons player Matt Cooper stood up to a bully in high school, now he's hoping others will take a stand

IT'S the schoolyard scourge that affects a quarter of all Australian students and today, The Daily Telegraph pledges to confront the issue of bullying.

Being cruel is not cool, that's ...

THE trip sent the smaller boy flying across the school quadrangle. As soon as he hit the concrete, the bigger boy was on him, striking him with his fists.

It was not the first time Matt Cooper, who would grow up to play league for St George Illawarra Dragons, had seen such an attack. But it was the last.

"I had to step in and stand up to the bullies - even though the guy who was doing the hitting was my best mate. I pulled him off and said, 'Mate, you can't do this. Not cool'," Cooper said.

Cooper had stopped being a bystander and stepped in to stop bullying.

One student in four in Australian schools is affected by bullying and today the NRL and The Daily Telegraph launch a campaign to stamp it out.

Nathan Hindmarsh with his boys Rowdie, 4, Buster, 6, and Archie, 8, and Matt Cooper with his girls Starr, 2, and Indie, 4.

Over the next six weeks specially trained players from every NRL club will travel across the country to take the Tackle Bullying message to almost 300,000 children.

It is the message that Cooper learnt for himself in the playground all those years ago: Anyone can be a hero.

"I am glad I stepped in, the effects of bullying were showing on this little kid," he said.

"Bullied kids lose confidence, don't like being at social events and become loners.

"For a while I had stood on the sidelines thinking it wasn't my responsibility to do anything and then I finally got to the point where I had to act.

"It took someone like me, a friend, to stand up and say something and stop the bullying. Ironically, he and the kid he was bullying became friends."

Nathan Hindmarsh with his boys Archie, Buster and Rowdie.

Cooper's daughters, Indie, 4, and Starr, 2, are at preschool, with the eldest due to start big school next year.

"I am nervous. I would hate to see my kids become the victim of a bully," said the NRL star, who is one of the ambassadors of Tackle Bullying.

The key messages for children, drawn up with child psychologist Dr Elizabeth Seely-Wait, spell out exactly what children need to do when confronted with bullying as a victim, perpetrator or bystander.

Children are told to stand strong, stay calm, respond confidently, walk away and then report the incident.

The campaign

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The Tackle Bullying campaign has produced a DVD and work books for use in schools that have been compiled with the Australian Catholic University to fit in with the national curriculum.

It is the second year the NRL Community Carnival has targeted bullying. Former Eels captain and rugby league hard man Nathan Hindmarsh has been taking the anti-bullying message into schools for the past 12 months: "It is about saying that anyone can be a hero. If you stand up to bullies and not be a bystander we can eradicate the problem.''

Hindmarsh has three sons, Archie, 8, Buster, 6, and Rowdie, 5: "Before I got involved in this program, if any of my sons had come to me and said they were being bullied my reaction would have been 'harden up'.

"But bullying really affects children and knowing how to approach the topic and talk it through with your children is really important."

He has first-hand experience of the problem from his school days: "I was a bully without being a bully. I was in a group of boys where certain boys would bully other boys and I didn't do anything to try and stop it. I wish I could go back in time and say 'What are you doing?' and stop it."

Hindmarsh said it was important to understand the difference between being bullied and being teased. He said the kid who used to call him "fatty" at school was just teasing.

"You come into school with a new haircut and your friends have a laugh, that's teasing. But if it goes on day after day, that's bullying," he said.

"And it's not always physical. Girls can be cruel and can exclude people to make them feel bad. Once they get home the bullying continues on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter."

"The key message for everyone on bullying, is don't ignore it. Confront it in a calm manner and then report it."