LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
The NRL career of Ryan Papenhuyzen appears to be over, at least as he perceives it.
During a recent episode of his podcast, One Six Seven, Papenhuyzen unexpectedly announced that he sees himself as retired following his immediate release from the final year of his contract with the Melbourne Storm.
Fans have speculated for months regarding his decision to leave rugby league, with some attributing it to R360, which faced delays.
In the same podcast episode, the 27-year-old shared what led to his choice.
"So that game (NRL Grand Final), pretty much I had that head knock in the last minutes and obviously went off the field and was in the sheds, pretty emotional... I was rattled. I don't think I've ever really cried in front of you boys, but I was in the sheds trying to hide it," Papenhuyzen expressed.
He elaborated, "In that moment it was kind of like, what am I doing? At what cost do you play footy for? I just had one of those moments, it was fleeting and over the weekend, I processed it."
Continuing, he said, "That was the catalyst for the conversations that went in place for the next few weeks. The plan was always, after that, whatever happens I'm having a year off."