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Former Melbourne Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen has confirmed his retirement from rugby league, saying he turned down a million-dollar contract and has no plans to return to the game.
Ryan Papenhuyzen is standing on the first tee box at Wollongong Golf Club, and he is keen to set the record straight. Yes, Papenhuyzen is definitely retired.
Yes, he turned down a million-dollar contract with the Storm at the peak of his powers to do things like play golf and work out what makes him happy. No, he has no plans to play another minute of footy. No, he is not a rugby union convert in waiting and never was. No regrets, Papenhuyzen says.
I learned everything I needed to learn out of rugby league. I achieved success quite early on.
Then had all the pitfalls of injuries. I feel like I lived out both ends of the spectrum. As the year has gone, I just have no drive or want to get back in that arena. A sure sign Papenhuyzen has found other hobbies in his 12 months out of the game is that he knows his 10-digit Golf ID number off by heart when asked for it at the pro shop.
Papenhuyzen golf choice Bulli setting
The golf course was Papenhuyzen choice of setting for an interview. The coastal track overlooks WIN Stadium, the home of the St George Illawarra Dragons, and the sand of Wollongong City Beach. Why Wollongong and not Sydney or Melbourne? Turns out Papenhuyzen is staying with his girlfriend family in nearby Bulli.
What is Ryan Papenhuyzen doing here? an onlooker from the next fairway can be heard asking. As the Roosters and Knights gear up for Sunday decider, one of the most exciting rugby league players of his generation is at peace with his decision to walk away from the game. Many assumed he would pivot to Japanese rugby or sign with R360, before the rebel competition demise.
Instead, he has spent his spare time caddying for Australian golfer Daniel Gale and coaching a handful of clients on the art of mental performance. Explaining that decision has not been as straightforward as he expected. People just do not believe it, Papenhuyzen says. Maybe it is the concept of walking away from a million dollars.
People think why would you give that money up? There is probably a little bit of disbelief with that. It all makes sense in my head. When I hear people are surprised about it, it just makes me think about the illusion people see with professional sport.
People will work all week, and they will sit and watch the footy, and it is their joy of the week. A lot of people wish that they could be in that position. But there are things that come with it. You are putting your body through probably the hardest thing you will ever go through physically.
You are tied to certain things. You lose your anonymity. You have got someone watching you. You go out in public and people want to talk to you.
Papenhuyzen professional sport illusion
It will sound really ungrateful, but it is more about understanding what comes with it. Just because you are good at it does not mean you need to do it. Find something that aligns more to how you want to live your life. It just was not serving its purpose like it did to start with.
Papenhuyzen hits a solid golf ball. His pre-shot routine is clearly that of a professional athlete, but he is not obsessed with getting his handicap down. He is playing off a handicap of 11 on this day. His goal today is to make good decisions on the course.
You have got to trick yourself that you are the best player ever, he says. He belts a drive on the par-five 18th, knocks his second close to the green and chips to less than a metre before tapping in for birdie. He walks off with 29 Stableford points, then settles in with an almond latte at the cafe behind the 18th green. Does he miss grand final week, having been involved in three in 2020, 2024 and 2025?
Definitely, seeing the guys play and the arena and the crowds, he says. But then I just think back to what it takes to actually get there. You think of how sore you are leading into finals. I do not miss that.
Papenhuyzen Melbourne Storm final standings
Melbourne, the club he scored 77 tries for in 113 matches across seven seasons from 2019 to 2025, is not featuring at Accor Stadium on Sunday. It is an oddity for a club synonymous with September success. A very un-Storm-like season ended with a 10th-place finish. Was it difficult to watch from the outside?
For the ego, no, it was not hard, Papenhuyzen says. It was hard watching the first game though, knowing that they won 52-4 against Parra. You start to wonder if you are the problem. They went on that losing streak, missed finals, and the ego makes you want to think it is you.
But then you obviously see who else was missing from the side. They will have to look within. I think there might have been a few things brewing in the years leading up, and it happened to be highlighted this year. As much as it probably felt good that they missed the finals, because I felt like I was not missing out on anything, it is bad because you know how hard the boys work.
I cannot quite pinpoint what went wrong. The freedom the boys played with in the last few rounds, knowing they could not make finals, I think that might be something that they look at. It is the same concept as golf. When you play with freedom, and you have got a shit score on the front, you usually have a good back nine.
Papenhuyzen retirement concussion catalyst
The catalyst for Papenhuyzen retirement, or in his mind at the time at least a year away, was a frightening concussion he suffered in the final round of the regular season. Papenhuyzen wondered whether the pain would ever go away. It did, and he played on through the finals, culminating in a 26-22 defeat to Brisbane on a night dominated by an electric Reece Walsh. When I walked out of the sheds, I was just rattled, he says.
That was scary. It felt like a bad trip, and I was quite emotional. I did not want to experience that feeling again. Telling his teammates was hard.
But his way of coping was to avoid almost everyone. Text messages were not returned for weeks, something he admits he could have handled better. I did not really speak to Bellyache, to be honest. He gave me a call, but I went into hiding, Papenhuyzen says.
I just did not want to face anything, really. I just wanted people to understand where my decision was from. But I thought the best thing for that was just hiding in a hole. Trying to explain it to people and seeing people eyes glaze over and not understand why you would walk away from something like that, I just did not want to even bother talking to people.
Papenhuyzen won an NRL premiership with the Melbourne Storm in 2020. He scored 77 tries for the club in 113 matches across seven seasons. Now he is at peace with his decision and focused on golf, caddying for Daniel Gale and coaching clients on mental performance. People just do not believe it, he says again. But it all makes sense in my head.
theage 
brisbanetimes:‘People just don’t believe it’: Why Papenhuyzen wants to set the record straight ... on the golf courseThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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