When Emre Guler takes to a Townsville field to kick off his NRL season, his heart will be halfway around the world.
The Canberra prop, deeply proud of his Turkish heritage, hasn't been spared the pain of the devastating earthquakes that have torn apart his home nation in recent weeks.
A 7.8 magnitude quake hit on February 6 and has killed more than 47,000 people, with 865,000 people now living in tents.