Papenhuyzen walks away from last Storm contract year

Ryan Papenhuyzen has quit the Melbourne Storm with immediate effect after a sit-down with club owner and chairman Matt Tripp ended with both deciding it was better if he was released from the final year of his playing deal.

“I’ve loved my time at Melbourne Storm,” Papenhuyzen said in a Storm club release this morning. “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. It’s been a privilege playing footy and working with you.”

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While it’s not yet clear where “Pappy” is headed next, he has been widely linked with the rebel rugby competition R360; the breakaway league wants to sign the gun fullback as a marquee star.

The only real information coming from Papenhyuzen’s camp following the bombshell exit is that he will “consider his future” now that he’s a free agent. If he takes up the R360 deal on the table, he would then be banned from playing in the NRL for the next ten years under a new suspension rule implemented by Australia Rugby League recently.

There’s also plenty of NRL teams that would happily take a punt on Papenhuyzen despite his brutal injury history, not least the rebuilding St George Illawarra Dragons and Pappy’s local club, the Wests Tigers, where he played juniors.

It’s not likely the Storm star has lost much of his prowess either, with the 27-year-old clocking up 15 tries and 60 goals in 21 appearances. Through those nearly two dozen games, he made 85 tackle busts and 20 offloads.

Suitors or no, though, the ABC has suggested Papenhyuzen may take a break from playing next year.

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Some had suspected this exit move was coming after Pappy posted a mysterious Instagram photo several days after the NRL grand final loss, where he wrote, “This life will never go exactly as you plan.” In the same post, he wrote about “understanding there are forces at play that are beyond you” and that he had “given it everything [he] had.”

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Papenhuyzen has been the first-string fullback in Melbourne since 2020, when the Storm beat the soon-to-be four-straight champions, Penrith, in a victory that confirmed future immortal and club captain Cameron Smith would retire.

He played 113 games for the Storm after debuting in 2019, scoring 77 tries and 160 goals.