Former Melbourne Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen has confirmed his retirement from the NRL, with him looking to pursue new opportunities outside of the sport.
When speaking with Triple M Rush Hour, Papenhuyzen ensured that he would be making a transition into a new career, with recent speculation mounting about exploring a different code.
"Yeah, I'd say I have (retired)," he told Triple M.
"I did speak at an AFLPA conference the other week and was speaking to the welfare managers there. And one of the ladies in the crowd asked me a great question about, 'Do you call it retirement or do you call it transition?'
"So I reckon that's why it was a bit mixed of, 'I think I've retired.' I'm just going to say I'm transitioning into a different career."
Papenhuyzen suffered some crucial head knocks along with some significant hard tissue injuries throughout his short career, which may have potentially played a role in why he fell out of love with the game.
Although Papenhuyzen always has the opportunity to return one day when he feels it is right, and refused to rule out completely retiring for good.
"Yeah, I think so (when asked if the door is ajar for a return). It doesn't feel fully right, but at the same time, I'm enjoying what I'm doing now, and probably got to a point where I wasn't enjoying it that much when I was in it."
"So, yeah, I don't know. Never say never."
"Where I'm at right now and enjoying a new journey and career doing something else, I want to give that a good crack first before I even consider any options outside of that."
The Clive Churchill Medal winner played 113 games for the Storm between 2019 and 2025, but with a transition into a new career outside of the field, it's an exciting time for Papenhuyzen on his new journey.
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