Ryan Papenhuyzen has opened up on his Storm exit — revealing the moment he knew he needed to step away from the game and quit rugby league.
Following Melbourne’s grand final defeat at the hands of the Storm it was announced Papenhuyzen had been granted an immediate release from his contract.
Speculation was rife the talented fullback would make a move to R360, with the 27-year-old making it clear he was taking a year off from the sport.
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Speaking on the 167 podcast, a podcast he runs alongside former teammates Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster, Papenhuyzen opened up to clear the air.
“I will set the record straight… I don’t even know where to start, but I’ll start from the Brisbane game in the last round,” he explained.
“So that game, 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.
“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.
“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.
“There was always a bit of me that thought if we lose, I’d want to come back and play again and if we won, it would be good to just go off and do it.
“It didn’t change my feeling of it at all. I’ve done all I can, I’ve tried hard and put in everything I can … if I keep playing this game, at what cost?”
In a shock reveal, Papenhuyzen also explained he believes he is now retired from rugby league.
While he acknowledged a potential move to rugby union was on the cards, it was his head knock against the Broncos that changed his thinking.
Instead, Papenhuyzen is tackling new challenges outside of football, despite it being “hard to leave that environment” and the money that comes with it.
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“What else in life do I want to achieve? That was helping people. In what capacity? I love psychology and I guess I love new experiences so what can I channel that into?,” he explained.
“I know I said a year [not playing] but at this stage, I don’t actually feel like I would play at all. I think I’m enjoying what I’m doing now and I’m going to give that my all.
“I know R360 [was there] and that was definitely in the talks and definitely something I was keen on, but I think that incident in Brisbane in the last round was just sort of like, everything happens for a reason, the universe puts you in situations.
“It was nearly like ‘no, you need to make this decision, be strong with it, stick with it’ … so now I think I’m retired.”
Papenhuyzen played 113 games for the Storm, winning a premiership and scoring 77 tries in Melbourne.
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