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The 29-year-old had already started thinking about life beyond the game and what it would mean to walk away from the sport.<\/p>\n
Instead, Marzhew is now preparing for the biggest match of his career on Sunday against the Sydney Roosters with a premiership on the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the beginning of this year I was so content with retiring,\u201d he told foxsports.com.au. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe way my body is, I want to be able to play with my kids when I\u2019m 50. I want to be fit, but I guess it\u2019s God\u2019s timing. <\/p>\n
\u201cGod\u2019s got a different plan for me and I\u2019ve been so stoked. I think about it every game because I\u2019m thinking I was so content with living a normal life and being around my kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut obviously God said you\u2019ve got a grand final to get to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greg Marzhew poses for a photo during a Newcastle Knights NRL media opportunity at Newcastle Permanent Centre of Excellence on September 29, 2026 in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Michael Gorton\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Retirement wasn\u2019t simply a passing thought.<\/p>\n
Before re-signing with the Knights on a three-year deal through the end of 2029 in May, Marzhew said he was content to let his future play out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where my head was at. The club did say they wanted to re-sign me and in my head I was like \u2018Oh that\u2019s cool, but if you don\u2019t want me I\u2019m fine with that\u2019,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t push it at all. It wasn\u2019t until the coach was telling me that he wants me to stay and he told our recruitment guy to get something sorted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, the coach who convinced Marzhew to keep playing was no stranger to changing the course of his career.<\/p>\n
Justin Holbrook had already done it once before.<\/p>\n
In 2021, Holbrook handed him his NRL debut at the Gold Coast Titans after a train-and-trial opportunity turned into a full-time contract.<\/p>\n
Now, five years later, he was the individual telling him he wanted him to stay in the Hunter region.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ask every single player in the history of the NRL, and they will never forget who gave them their debut game,\u201d Marzhew added.<\/p>\n
\u201cJustin will always hold a special part of my life and that\u2019s how I\u2019ve been able to provide for my family because of that trust he instilled in me and giving me that shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unexpected NRL coach of the year winner | 03:43<\/p>\n
Reflecting on that moment, it remains one of the emotional times of the winger\u2019s career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was lost for words and I was so emotional. It was good because I got to debut with Jayden Campbell and he kind of took a lot of the spotlight off mine,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to be low-key, so a lot of that light was on him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018Okay that\u2019s good\u2019, but man, it was such a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
That first grade debut came after Marzhew had already endured a difficult period where his NRL aspirations seemed to be slipping away.<\/p>\n
Before getting an opportunity with the Titans, he faced an uncertain future with a young family and no guaranteed contract.<\/p>\n
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 11: Dominic Young and Greg Marzhew of the Knights celebrate winning the NRL Elimination Final match between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights at Allianz Stadium on September 11, 2026, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
THE CAREER CROSSROADS<\/p>\n
Opening up on the journey that has taken him to competing in his maiden grand final, Marzhew reflected on the hardest period of his career.<\/p>\n
At the end of 2019, Marzhew had helped the Wentworthville Magpies – Parramatta Eels\u2019 reserve grade side – reach the NSW Cup alongside future NRL regulars Jaeman Salmon, Stefano Utoikamanu and Oregon Kaufusi.<\/p>\n
Producing the best season of his career to that point, he appeared to have done enough to earn a new deal with the Eels.<\/p>\n
Instead, he was left weighing up a lowball offer from the club while preparing to become a father for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy partner just fell pregnant and we were happy to go back to Queensland,\u201d Marzhew said.<\/p>\n
\u201cParra wanted to give me a low-ball deal, like minimum, which was a big pay cut. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had a really good year and I was just kind of surprised Parra offered me what they did and I was happy to just move back (to Queensland). <\/p>\n
\u201cI tend to be really content with that and it doesn\u2019t really bother me at all, but we decided to move back and never looked back.\u201d<\/p>\n
GOSFORD, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 10: Greg Marzhew of the Knights looks on during the NRL trial match between Newcastle Knights and Cronulla Sharks at Industree Group Stadium on February 10, 2023 in Gosford, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
It was a decision that could easily have brought his NRL dream to an end.<\/p>\n
But it opened the door for a new opportunity he never saw coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hit up by the Burleigh Bears and seeing if they were keen to have me, so I decided, let\u2019s go be around family, both of our families and have our first baby,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the Titans said I\u2019ll come for a train and trial and then the train and trial turned into a contract and the contract turned into a debut and then I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thousands turn up for Knights training | 02:10<\/p>\n
THE MOVE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING<\/p>\n
By the time the Newcastle Knights came calling, Marzhew had already experienced the uncertainty of trying to establish yourself in the NRL.<\/p>\n
After 25 matches for the Titans across two seasons in 2021 and 2022, he had finally broken into first grade but was still searching for stability.<\/p>\n
However, even his arrival in Newcastle hinged on a twist of fate.<\/p>\n
The Knights initially approached the Titans about signing Marzhew, but the move hit a roadblock because he was still under contract with them.<\/p>\n
Then Titans dummy-half Sam Verrills broke his collarbone<\/p>\n
Suddenly, Gold Coast needed to free up a roster spot to bring in a new hooker, Chris Randall.<\/p>\n
LISMORE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 27: Greg Marzhew of the Titans looks on prior to the NRL Trial Match between the Gold Coast Titans and the New Zealand Warriors at Oaks Oval on February 27, 2021 in Lismore, Australia. (Photo by Matt Roberts\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cNewcastle approached the Titans and asked about my situation and the Titans pushed it back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Sam Verills at the time broke his collarbone, so they needed a hooker and they got Chris Randall and I got to come here. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a blessing for both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
That freak incident opened the door for Marzhew to move to Newcastle, and he has never looked back.<\/p>\n
\u201cA fresh start was probably one of the main ones and a better opportunity to play consistent NRL,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe club were keen to have me here and I could see that they were keen and I think that\u2019s ultimately what drew me. <\/p>\n
\u201cMeeting Parry [Peter Parr] and Adsy [Adam O\u2019Brien] at the time, I was so happy with the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Entering 2026, Greg Marzhew never expected to be preparing for an NRL Grand Final In fact, the Newcastle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-618044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}