“I love New Zealand. I sound more Aussie than most Australians, but everything inside me is Kiwi. I’m very connected to my homeland; it’s very spiritual to me. I can’t explain it. It’s nice this is how it will finish.”
After 318 NRL games over 17 seasons, topped by the 2011 NRL premiership with Manly, Foran had felt at peace with his decision to call it a day. But he began second-guessing himself this week after realising how good he felt, physically and mentally, training with the Kiwis in Auckland.
Kieran Foran has a laugh with his Kiwi teammates as he revels in one last campaign with the national team.Credit: Getty Images
Foran could have been a first-class back-up halves option for an NRL club in 2026. Fellow Kiwi Benji Marshall thrived in a similar role for South Sydney in 2021, and found it much easier knowing he was not going to be relied upon to run the show every week.
“I’m feeling as sharp as ever, and this week I started to think, ‘I’m not done yet’,” Foran says. “Every player has doubts about whether they’ve made the call to retire too early. Could I have gone another year chasing that premiership?
“It’s crossed my mind this week that I might still have something left. But I’ve made the call, and I’m sticking to it. I really am. What I am going to do is absolutely juice it and get the wins for the Kiwis, starting Sunday against Samoa.
“I’m undecided about what I do moving forward. Coaching is what I would like to do. I’ll also continue to do work in the mental health space.”
Jones could easily have looked towards the future and selected a young playmaker over Foran, especially with the World Cup on the horizon next year. But New Zealand have a serious halfback shortage. Even the Warriors have had to rely on Australians Tanah Boyd, Luke Metcalf and Jett Cleary to bolster their playmaking stocks.
But the coach’s decision was made easier by the fact Foran had never let his high standards slip, giving everything to a Titans team that only narrowly avoided the wooden spoon in 2025.
“I sat down with Kieran and told him I would have brought him in anyway because I wanted him to be a part of the off-field staff, which he did last year with leadership and a bit of coaching,” Jones says.
“By picking him to play, it means he just has to do a bit more work. We looked at all our options. It’s a bit of a scary place for us because we don’t have that depth in our halves. We don’t have the Junior Kiwis where we can identify guys.
Kieran Foran is chaired off the field following his 318th and final NRL game.Credit: Getty Images
“Even at the Warriors, we’ve had to bring over a few Australians. Maybe we need to recruit those guys and give them citizenship.
“But this is a perfect way for ‘Foz’ to finish up. Why not give him one last farewell in a good environment?”
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Foran and his family moved to Australia when he was in primary school, but he has never forgotten his Kiwi roots.
One of his fondest childhood memories was being woken up by his parents at 2am to watch the All Blacks play the Springboks in South Africa.
Sea Eagles forward Anthony Watmough, who Foran still regards as the toughest man he ever played alongside, used to urge him to commit to NSW and Australia, given he had worn the sky blue at under-17s level and played Australian Schoolboys.
“You’re not even a real Kiwi,” Watmough would chide Foran. “When are you going to play Origin, you bludger?”
Foran will wear the No.7 jersey alongside Newcastle’s new $14 million man Dylan Brown for Sunday’s clash with Samoa, who will have Jarome Luai and Blaize Talagi in the halves. The match will also mark Payne Haas’ debut for Samoa.
Talagi was just four years old when Foran made his NRL debut. He might get to watch the ageing warrior play a few more games yet.