He may have eluded NRL officials, but Semi Radradra was only keeping a promise to his little sister when he wore a necklace in last Thursday night's match against Brisbane.

After travelling home to Fiji to check on his family following the devastation of Cyclone Winston, Radradra returned with a cross his sister asked him to wear in response to the tragedy that struck their homeland.

While players are prohibited from wearing any form of jewellery on the field, this went largely unnoticed as the Parramatta cult hero fulfilled his promise after witnessing the devastation first hand.

"One of my sisters gave it to me and wanted me to wear it," Radradra told Fairfax Media.

"She wanted me to thank the Lord for everything and protect their lives. I'm not gong to wear it every game, just because of what happened.

"She wanted me to have it and think about the Lord and everything he's done for the family."

Radradra's family wasn't affected by the cyclone that struck Fiji last month, but his quick trip home was a huge shock on the eve of the season.

The Eels winger was unable to contact family after hearing news of the cyclone, admitting he was scared for the safety of his family.

He then approached coach Brad Arthur for time away from training to check on the welfare of his loved ones, who were unaware he had just boarded a flight back to Fiji.

"I just told him I couldn't get a hold of my family and I wanted to get back and see them," Radradra said of his conversation with Arthur.

"I was very nervous when I heard the news and I tried to contact them. I was happy the club let me go. When I arrived after a day, the network was switched on again and I called them.

"I was pretty scared to be honest, but I was so happy nothing happened. They didn't know I was coming. They were very happy to see me."

Radradra helped out in the villages, offering support to those who had lost their homes in the natural disaster.

While he witnessed a number of vicious cyclones while he was living in Fiji, the locals told him this was the worst they'd encountered.

"They said that cyclone Winston was the strongest ever in Fiji," Radradra said.

"Everything is damaged back home. Everything is gone. When I was there I saw a couple of hurricanes but they said this one was the worst one ever. It was very hard for me when I heard the news back home about the cyclone. I think me going back home was good to see the family and catch up with the family. Hopefully they are doing alright back there. All my family are sweet. I was pretty happy that no one was hurt.

"It's pretty sad to see everything. When I landed there, after a day I went to one village and it was pretty sad to see everything was gone and taken away from them. It's really sad."