{"id":910245,"date":"2026-09-29T21:40:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T21:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/910245\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T21:40:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T21:40:21","slug":"life-after-the-nrl-how-ryan-papenhuyzen-found-peace-and-freedom-after-retiring-from-rugby-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/910245\/","title":{"rendered":"Life after the NRL: How Ryan Papenhuyzen found peace and freedom after retiring from rugby league"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tom<\/p>\n

September 30, 2026 \u2014 5:22am<\/p>\n

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It was Forrest Gump who said that life was like a box of chocolates. Ryan Papenhuyzen prefers a different analogy.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf\u2019s just like the game of life, I reckon,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go through your journey of bad shots, but if you don\u2019t respond to it well, then it\u2019s going to be two bad shots, and it just compounds. It\u2019s four hours of pretty much living out what I know life to be at the moment at 28 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time last year, Papenhuyzen was in the thick of grand final week, preparing for what would be his last game of rugby league in the decider against the Brisbane Broncos.<\/p>\n

Today, the former Melbourne Storm fullback, a grand final winner and Clive Churchill Medallist in 2020<\/a>, is standing on the first tee box at Wollongong Golf Club.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s keen to set the record straight.<\/p>\n

\"RetiredRetired Melbourne Storm star Ryan Papenhuyzen takes on Wollongong Golf Club. Steven Siewert<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 he\u2019s playing off a handicap of 11 on this day \u2013 and work out what makes him happy.<\/p>\n

No, he has no plans to play another minute of footy.<\/p>\n

No, he is not a rugby union convert in waiting (and never was).<\/p>\n

\u201cNo regrets,\u201d Papenhuyzen says. \u201cI learned everything I needed to learn out of rugby league.<\/p>\n

\"RyanRyan Papenhuyzen scores a try against the Bulldogs in 2025.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2019s gone, I just have no drive or want to get back in that arena.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The golf course was Papenhuyzen\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Why Wollongong and not Sydney or Melbourne? Turns out Papenhuyzen is staying with his girlfriend\u2019s family in nearby Bulli.<\/p>\n

\"RyanRyan Papenhuyzen takes a shot from the bunker. Steven Siewert<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is Ryan Papenhuyzen doing here?\u201d an onlooker from the next fairway can be heard asking.<\/p>\n

As the Roosters and Knights gear up for Sunday\u2019s 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\u2019s demise.<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Explaining that decision has not been as straightforward as he expected.<\/p>\n

\"RyanRyan Papenhuyzen won an NRL premiership with the Melbourne Storm in 2020. Steven Siewert<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople just don\u2019t believe it,\u201d Papenhuyzen says. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s the concept of walking away from a million dollars. [People think] why would you give that money up? There\u2019s probably a little bit of disbelief with that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will work all week, and they\u2019ll sit and watch the footy, and it\u2019s 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\u2019re putting your body through probably the hardest thing you\u2019ll ever go through physically. You\u2019re tied to certain things. You lose your anonymity. You\u2019ve got someone watching you. You go out in public and people want to talk to you.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll sound really ungrateful, but it\u2019s more about understanding what comes with it. Just because you\u2019re good at it doesn\u2019t mean you need to do it. Find something that aligns more to how you want to live your life.<\/p>\n

\"RyanRyan Papenhuyzen is playing plenty of golf in retirement. He hits a shot into the 18th green at Wollongong Golf Club. Steven Siewert<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just wasn\u2019t serving its purpose like it did to start with.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. His goal today is to make good decisions on the course.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to trick yourself that you\u2019re the best player ever,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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 caf\u00e9 behind the 18th green.<\/p>\n

\"StormStorm coach Craig Bellamy and star player Cameron Munster.Getty Images<\/p>\n

Does he miss grand final week, having been involved in three (2020, 2024 and 2025)?<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely \u2026 seeing the guys play and the arena and the crowds,\u201d he says. \u201cBut then I just think back to what it takes to actually get there. You think of how sore you are leading into finals. I don\u2019t miss that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

It is an oddity for a club synonymous with September success. A very un-Storm-like season ended with a 10th-place finish.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Melbourne Storm star Ryan Papenhuyzen working as a caddie for Australian golfer Daniel Gale.PR IMAGE<\/p>\n

Was it difficult to watch from the outside?<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the ego, no, it wasn\u2019t hard,\u201d Papenhuyzen says. \u201cIt was hard watching the first game though, knowing that they won 52-4 against Parra. You start to wonder if you\u2019re the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey went on that losing streak, missed finals \u2026 and the ego makes you want to think it\u2019s you. But then you obviously see who else was missing from the side.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n

\"XavierXavier Coates and Ryan Papenhuyzen at the 2025 NRL grand final against the Brisbane Broncos. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as it probably felt good that they missed the finals \u2013 because I felt like I wasn\u2019t missing out on anything \u2013 it\u2019s bad because you know how hard the boys work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t quite pinpoint [what went wrong]. The freedom the boys played with in the last few rounds, knowing they couldn\u2019t make finals, I think that might be something that they look at. It\u2019s the same concept as golf. When you play with freedom, and you\u2019ve got a shit score on the front, you usually have a good back nine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The catalyst for Papenhuyzen\u2019s retirement \u2013 or, in his mind at the time, at least a year away \u2013 was a frightening concussion he suffered in the final round of the regular season.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"RyanRyan Papenhuyzen is now delighted with being a keen golfer. Steven Siewert<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I walked out of the sheds, I was just rattled,\u201d he says. \u201cThat [concussion] was scary. It felt like a bad trip, and I was quite emotional. I didn\u2019t want to experience that feeling again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Telling his teammates was hard. But his way of coping was to avoid almost everyone. Text messages weren\u2019t returned for weeks, something he admits he could have handled better.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really speak to Bellyache [coach Craig Bellamy], to be honest. He gave me a call, but I went into hiding,\u201d Papenhuyzen says.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Newcastle<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI just didn\u2019t 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\u2019s eyes glaze over and not understand why you\u2019d walk away from something like that \u2026 I just didn\u2019t want to even bother talking to people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I do have kids, and they\u2019re doing something that they are good at, but they don\u2019t enjoy it, how am I meant to stand there and tell them to walk away and pursue something they enjoy \u2026 if I\u2019m not going to do it myself?\u201d<\/p>\n

All is good now. Papenhuyzen has landed a gig with Channel Seven for the Rugby League World Cup, starting next month. He is enjoying the freedom of not being locked into an NRL contract. Running, lifting weights and reading books keeps him busy, as he maintains as open mind on what the future holds.<\/p>\n

And, hopefully, not being asked for the umpteenth time when he is going to lace up the boots again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes with its challenges of not having certainty around what I\u2019m doing,\u201d Papenhuyzen says. \u201cBut at the same time that flexibility and not being tied to anything is a nice luxury to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"TomTom Decent<\/a> is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 30, 2026 \u2014 5:22am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":910246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-910245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910245","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=910245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}