Test stars, fringe first-graders and a carpenter on an $8000 footballer contract are among the 50-plus players with NRL experience who are still to secure a contract for 2009.

Kiwi internationals Luke Covell and Souths' Jeremy Smith and former Queensland Origin star Neville Costigan are among those yet to find a home for next season as dozens of experienced players face the prospect of being forced overseas - or out of the game altogether.

While much has been made of Mark Gasnier's big-money departure to French rugby, the NRL could also lose some of its most loyal club men and characters as clubs complete their rosters for next season.

"For every Mark Gasnier there's a dozen Fred Briggs's," player-manager Sam Ayoub said.

Ayoub's client Briggs has quietly toiled away in the Bulldogs' engine room this season on a contract worth $8000 at a time when Sonny Bill Williams was unhappy with his multimillion-dollar deal.

Briggs has supplemented his small sign-on fee with carpentry work and has had to move in with partner Amy Lee's parents. "When I hurt my shoulder I missed a lot of work and it set us back a bit," he said. "Now things are happening again we're looking for somewhere to live."

Others, including Matt Ballin, Mathew Head, Kirk Reynoldson, Michael Crockett, Rangi Chase, Andrew Emelio and Eddie Paea, are also yet to determine their futures.