Burleigh Bears captain Luke Page has put up his hand to help the New Zealand Warriors if they need reinforcements.
The 29-year-old PNG Kumuls prop, also an in-demand disc jockey known as 'DJ Moey Fresh', is also keen to hear from the NRL if they need some music put together to boost the atmosphere at empty stadiums in the coming weeks.
Page, who skippered Burleigh to a premiership last year, has no football on the horizon until at least June 5 in wake of the Intrust Super Cup being suspended.
He has played 11 Tests for PNG and spent time in the Gold Coast Titans, Canberra Raiders and St George Illawarra Dragons systems.
The Warriors, based in Australia indefinitely while the coronavirus pandemic plays out, have a squad of 24 players to pick from at the moment, with three of those on the development list and two on train-and-trial deals.
They will get through the Round 2 clash with the Raiders and then recruitment chief Peter O’Sullivan will assess whether extra help is needed from other NRL clubs who all have 13 players in their top 30 not playing any football each weekend.
There are also hundreds of Intrust Super Cup and Canterbury Cup players who are not playing for an indefinite period, and Page, who played one NRL game for the Dragons in 2015, is one of them.
"I would definitely consider it if the Warriors need some help. With my work as a builder I have to keep the money rolling in because my mortgage is still there," Page said.
“I would have to get paid the right amount but it would be a good opportunity with the Warriors. I am definitely keen.
"There are a lot of Burleigh players who could play NRL or have done. The Warriors are training just down the road [at Kingscliff] so we are a local team on their doorstep. It could be a good fix for the Warriors.
"We have guys like Kurtis Rowe, Jack Buchanan, Jack Stockwell and Jamal Fogarty, who is now with the Titans and absolutely killing it, who have all played NRL."
The Bears beat the Titans in a trial recently and Page and his teammates are in peak physical condition, but with nowhere to play and without a key income stream.
Pre-season trial match highlights: Titans v Bears
While NRL players outside the top 17 are still being paid, that is not the case for players like Page who depend on match payments to supplement his work.
"That is a massive loss because you look forward to your footy money to top you up every week," Page said.
"I only get paid per game I play, so if I don’t play I don’t get paid, so there is no income for me from footy at the moment. We don’t have a salary as such like the NRL players do.
"You do eight weeks of full-on training before Christmas and then eight weeks after. Then you play the first round and for it to get called off for 10 weeks is heartbreaking.
"There is nothing we can do about it but we are trying to come up with solutions to keep fit."
Page’s work away from the football arena is also being impacted by the coronavirus.
"I build decks, patios and house extensions. Just this week there are clients that are pulling out and postponing building work at their house, so work is scarce at the moment," Page said.
Page is highly regarded as ‘DJ Moey Fresh’ and has worked at venues and mixed music for weddings. He has been taking a keen interest in the atmosphere in empty stadiums and is keen to ramp it up.
"I don’t know whether they could handle what I listen to. It might be a bit too heavy for them, but I could definitely whip up something suitable for the NRL," Page said.
"I have a lot of 1980s music I can go back to…a bit of AC/DC and Cold Chisel. Maybe an AC/DC remix with a 2020 flavour to it.
"Not playing footy I have a lot more spare time so I’m pushing the envelope to DJ a bit more.
"I already do it for the Burleigh boys at training and in the gym so they can go on Sound Cloud and listen to some of my mixes.
"I love my music. It is a way of expressing myself. You can follow me on Sound Cloud…Moey Fresh."
