{"id":679482,"date":"2026-05-18T22:14:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T22:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/679482\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T22:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T22:14:11","slug":"partners-lovely-tribute-after-nrl-star-announces-immediate-retirement-after-14-year-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/679482\/","title":{"rendered":"Partner’s lovely tribute after NRL star announces immediate retirement after 14-year career"},"content":{"rendered":"

The partner of former NRL<\/a> player Konrad Hurrell has paid a moving tribute on social media after he confirmed his retirement from rugby league<\/a> after 14 seasons. A blockbusting centre who became a cult hero, Hurrell played 116 games in the NRL from 2012 to 2018.<\/p>\n

He played 71 for the New Zealand Warriors and 45 for the Gold Coast Titans before moving to the English Super League. He finishes up with 257 first-grade games to his name after stints with Leeds Rhinos, St Helens, Halifax, Swinton, Bradford and L\u00e9zignan Sangliers (in France), and also played 13 Test matches for Tonga.<\/p>\n

\"Konrad<\/p>\n

Konrad Hurrell’s partner Bec paid a moving tribute after he confirmed his retirement. Image: Getty\/Bec Bates<\/p>\n

News of his retirement came to light last week, but he only confirmed it in recent days. He wrote on social media: \u201cA massive thank you for giving me the opportunity to live my childhood dream. I have enjoyed every moment of it. I have made a decision to retire and focus on chasing my kids around.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis game have given me a lot in the last 14 years and I will always be thankful for that. To all the players I have met on the way, appreciate all the love you have given me. It\u2019s been a pleasure to put on the jersey with you all.\u201d<\/p>\n

To his partner Bec he wrote: \u201cI seriously wouldn\u2019t get this far without you. Making a decision to move all the way to the other side of the world if you weren\u2019t by my side I don\u2019t think I would\u2019ve last a year. I can\u2019t wait for our next chapter in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Konrad<\/p>\n

Konrad Hurrell during a game for the Gold Coast Titans in 2018.<\/p>\n

(Chris Hyde)Partner and fellow NRL stars pay tribute to Konrad Hurrell<\/p>\n

Bec paid tribute to Hurrell in her own post, writing: \u201cWhat a ride the last 9 years have been. I\u2019m so grateful to have been on this journey with you – the highs and lows and all the things that people don\u2019t see in between, it\u2019s shaped us and gotten us to where we are now.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have so much to be proud of – 7 years in the NRL and 7 years in Super League. Representing your country time and time again, winning the Challenge Cup, the Super League Grand Final, League Leaders and a World Club Challenge. You have accomplished so much and impacted so many – there is truly nobody like you.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way you build relationships with everyone around you is a true testament to your character. Even when you don\u2019t speak the language. You\u2019ve made your family proud and will continue to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hurrell was part of the Tonga team that famously beat Australia in 2019 – the first time a Tier-2 nation had beaten Australia in a rugby league Test match since 1978. He was also part of the St Helens team that beat the Penrith Panthers on their home turf<\/a> to win the World Club Challenge in 2023 – the only major trophy the Panthers have failed to win despite their four-straight NRL premierships.<\/p>\n

Past and present teammates Will Hopoate, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Beau Ryan, Manu Vatuvei, Tyson Frizell and Haumole Olakau’atu all paid tribute to Hurrell and wrote messages of congratulations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The partner of former NRL player Konrad Hurrell has paid a moving tribute on social media after he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,81371,4612,246354,94196,761,762,2613,158,1793,159,85,40620],"class_list":["post-679482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-english-super-league","tag-gold-coast-titans","tag-konrad-hurrell","tag-leeds-rhinos","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-new-zealand-warriors","tag-nrl","tag-retirement","tag-rugby-league","tag-sports","tag-world-club-challenge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679482","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=679482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}