{"id":251058,"date":"2025-10-30T14:21:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/251058\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T14:21:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:21:25","slug":"melbourne-storm-fullback-ryan-papenhuyzen-granted-immediate-release-as-r360-move-looms-justin-rodski-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/251058\/","title":{"rendered":"Melbourne Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen granted immediate release as R360 move looms; Justin Rodski comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Storm chief executive Justin Rodski has addressed Ryan Papenhuyzen<\/a>‘s departure, expressing his belief the fullback doesn’t know what he’ll do next. <\/p>\n

Papenhuyzen was granted a release from the final year of his contract with the Storm<\/a> and will depart the club with immediate effect.<\/p>\n

The star fullback has been widely linked with a move to R360, but an official agreement with the rebel rugby union competition has not been confirmed at this stage.<\/p>\n

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Melbourne’s statement said that Papenhuyzen would “take a break away from the game to consider his future” despite having a season to run on a lucrative deal.<\/p>\n

Speaking on SEN, Rodski revealed negotiations with Papenhuyzen and his management had been ongoing for four weeks since the grand final.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Justin Rodski speaks to media.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

He had a clause in his contract which was a mutual option for 2027 which had to be activated by November 1. <\/p>\n

“It started to emerge that perhaps Ryan was looking to take some time out from the game and professional sport so we worked closely with him on that over that period of time,” Rodski said.<\/p>\n

“In the end he came to that decision that his preference would be to seek a release from the club so he could take some time away from the game and professional sport and have a think about what he wants to do not just sport but life.”<\/p>\n

Watch the 2025 Pacific Championships live and free on Nine and 9Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rodski said the fact Papenhuyzen was contracted until next year made it a “surprise”. <\/p>\n

The chief executive explained the decision wasn’t just down the sport, but Papenhuyzen is now free to sign with rivals.<\/p>\n

“Ryan’s someone that thinks a lot about the game and a lot about life and one of those people that sport, or the professional side of being an athlete, while that’s important to him, it’s not everything to his life and he wanted time to think about that,” he said.<\/p>\n

“… I actually don’t think he knows (where he’s going next).”<\/p>\n

Papenhuyzen has been an integral part of the Storm squad for the past five years and won the Clive Churchill Medal in the side’s last premiership win in 2020.<\/p>\n

\"SYDNEY,<\/p>\n

Ryan Papenhuyzen\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

He finished with 77 tries in 113 first grade appearances for the Victorian club.<\/p>\n

“I’ve loved my time at Melbourne Storm,” he said on Thursday.<\/p>\n

“I’ve enjoyed close to a decade of incredible memories and experiences in the purple jersey. Playing in front of the Storm fans every week has made my time in Melbourne something I’ll never forget.<\/p>\n

“I want to thank the club for their understanding and support throughout this process.<\/p>\n

“I also want to thank my teammates, coaches and staff for all their love and support, it’s been a privilege playing footy and working with you.”<\/p>\n

Watch the 2025 rugby league Ashes series live and free on Nine and 9Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Storm chairman Matt Tripp paid tribute to the 27-year-old for his efforts while playing for the powerhouse NRL club.<\/p>\n

“Ryan has shown great character and resilience throughout his time at our club, and we’ve loved watching him develop into the player and person that he is today,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We’re obviously disappointed that his time at Storm has come to an end, but we respect his decision to take some time away from professional sport.<\/p>\n

“We thank Ryan for his enormous contribution to our club. He departs Storm as a premiership player and Clive Churchill Medallist with 113 games to his name.<\/p>\n

“We wish Ryan the very best for the next chapter in his life and career.”<\/p>\n

Papenhuyzen’s departure will open the door for young gun Sua Faalogo to step into the No.1 jumper on a full-time basis next season. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ryan Papenhuyzen and Sua Faalogo.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Should he move to R360 after his departure was confirmed, Papenhuyzen could face a potential 10-year ban from playing in the NRL<\/a> after a bold call from Peter V’landys.<\/p>\n

Papenhuyzen’s exit completes a busy period for the Storm, who parted ways with young halfback Jonah Pezet<\/a> as he prepares for a two-club move with the Eels and Broncos.<\/p>\n

Pezet was seen as the long-term halfback at the club prior to Jahrome Hughes signing a fresh contract earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Cameron Munster, who was linked with the Perth Bears, is signed until the end of 2027. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Storm chief executive Justin Rodski has addressed Ryan Papenhuyzen‘s departure, expressing his belief the fullback doesn’t know what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-251058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}