{"id":253041,"date":"2025-10-31T10:59:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T10:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/253041\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T10:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T10:59:15","slug":"ryan-papenhuyzen-quits-melbourne-storm-teammates-react-via-kevin-walters-kangaroos-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/253041\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Papenhuyzen quits Melbourne Storm, teammates react via Kevin Walters, Kangaroos coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kevin Walters<\/a> has lifted the lid on the stunned reaction of Ryan Papenhuyzen<\/a>‘s high-profile Storm<\/a> teammates currently in camp with the Kangaroos for the three-Test Ashes tour, claiming they were “as shocked as anyone” by the star fullback’s decision to quit the NRL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Nine’s Today, Walters spoke for the majority of the NRL community by expressing his hope that Papenhuyzen will only be out of the game for 12 months, with mystery still hanging over the 27-year-old’s next move, although he has been strongly linked to a deal with controversial rebel competition R360.<\/p>\n

After months of speculation regarding the Clive Churchill Medallist’s future, Papenhuyzen was granted an immediate release from the final year of his Storm contract on Thursday.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: ‘We will’: Storm boss’ big hint on impending Tino pursuit<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: Centuries galore as Harris’ switch proves a masterstroke<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: Crowd silenced as India’s skipper drops Healy’s sitter<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Ryan<\/p>\n

Melbourne’s Ryan Papenhuyzen.\u00a0Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

There was no indication of what Papenhuyzen would do next, and an official agreement with R360 remains unconfirmed.<\/p>\n

Walters was fully supportive of Papenhuyzen’s move but urged him not to be lost to the game entirely.<\/p>\n

“As a rugby league fan, Ryan’s been a very good player for the Melbourne Storm, and for our game, a great ambassador as well,” he said.<\/p>\n

“So, we just hope that he’s OK with 12 months, you know, maybe away from the game. I’m not sure what he’s going to get up to post that [break].<\/p>\n

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

“But he’s been a wonderful player for our game and a great ambassador as well, not only for the Storm but also for the NRL.”<\/p>\n

The news has sent shockwaves through the NRL, with Walters painting a picture of the reaction of Papenhuyzen’s Storm teammates, who are currently playing for Australia.<\/p>\n

“They were as shocked as anyone to hear the news,” Walters said.<\/p>\n

“But I’m sure that Ryan has his plans and his ideas around his decision, and we support him in every way.”<\/p>\n

Melbourne’s statement said Papenhuyzen would “take a break away from the game to consider his future,” leaving behind a lucrative deal with a year still to run.<\/p>\n

If Papenhuyzen signs with R360, he faces a potential 10-year NRL ban \u2014 a sanction resulting from a bold call by ARLC chairman Peter V’landys<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Papenhuyzen’s decision comes after an injury-plagued few years, battling back from a fractured kneecap and two significant ankle injuries.<\/p>\n

Australia is on the brink of Ashes glory, needing just one more win from the next two games against England to seal the series.<\/p>\n

\"Reece<\/p>\n

Australia’s Reece Walsh and Harry Grant celebrate after winning game one.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Melbourne hooker Harry Grant will take over the captaincy from the injured Isaah Yeo<\/a> for the second Test.<\/p>\n

“When I first told him the other day before training, he was very excited,” Walters said.<\/p>\n

“He’s been a great leader of the Storm for a few years now.<\/p>\n

“I thought when Isaah Yeo went off on the weekend, he really took the reins as the leader of the Kangaroos, and he’ll get the job done again this week.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kevin Walters has lifted the lid on the stunned reaction of Ryan Papenhuyzen‘s high-profile Storm teammates currently in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-253041","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\/253041","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=253041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}