JamesBrandy
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Always the larrikin, Jack Reed couldn’t help but throw a friendly barb at a teammate while announcing his retirement from the NRL today.
A serious shoulder injury has forced Reed to retire from the game at age 28.
His teammate Corey Parker will do the same when the Broncos are finished for 2016, and Reed couldn’t help dropping a zinger on his 34-year-old captain.
“Everyone dreams of that fairy tale send off and playing until your late sixties like ‘Parky’, but it wasn’t to be for me,” he said.
It was the kind of friendly banter that made Reed one of the most popular players in the dressing room, a fact underlined by half the Broncos’ team turning up to his announcement even though it was their rostered day off.
Ben Hunt, Corey Oates, Lachlan Maranta, Matt Gillett and Josh McGuire were all sitting in the audience when Reed made his announcement in the Broncos’ boardroom.
Also sitting there was Reed’s wife Karen and baby daughter Quinn; and the English international made sure people knew that is what this decision was about.
“I sat down with my family, my beautiful wife, and obviously it wasn’t an easy decision,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, being a father rather than a football player was a 'no brainer'. They have been so supportive through it all.
“I knew in myself I wouldn’t be able to come back to the level needed to play with the boys.
“But I knew it was best for me.
“When you wake up for the last two months in pain and you can barely hold your daughter, it’s a tough one.
“You have to take a look in to your future and at the end of the day football is a small bubble in your life.
“You play until you are 30 years of age and you have another 70 years of living after that. I'd rather live healthy.
“I'd rather be out the back kicking the footy around with my daughter than getting gingerly off the couch because I pushed my body too far.”
Reed played 126 NRL games for the Broncos and five Tests for England, as well as being an All Star in 2012.
He also played in the drawn 2015 NRL Grand Final but says his NRL debut against the Cowboys in 2011 will remain his fondest memory apart from his wedding and the birth of Quinn.
“It's everything - as a kid you have the dream,” he said.
“But to come in every day, and pull on your jersey to play for your club, the place you live, is a massive thing.
“I'll remember every moment like it was my last and I have made some dear friends and lifelong connections.
SOURCE:
http://www.broncos.com.au/news/2016/09/07/reed_goes_out_in_sty.html
A serious shoulder injury has forced Reed to retire from the game at age 28.
His teammate Corey Parker will do the same when the Broncos are finished for 2016, and Reed couldn’t help dropping a zinger on his 34-year-old captain.
“Everyone dreams of that fairy tale send off and playing until your late sixties like ‘Parky’, but it wasn’t to be for me,” he said.
It was the kind of friendly banter that made Reed one of the most popular players in the dressing room, a fact underlined by half the Broncos’ team turning up to his announcement even though it was their rostered day off.
Ben Hunt, Corey Oates, Lachlan Maranta, Matt Gillett and Josh McGuire were all sitting in the audience when Reed made his announcement in the Broncos’ boardroom.
Also sitting there was Reed’s wife Karen and baby daughter Quinn; and the English international made sure people knew that is what this decision was about.
“I sat down with my family, my beautiful wife, and obviously it wasn’t an easy decision,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, being a father rather than a football player was a 'no brainer'. They have been so supportive through it all.
“I knew in myself I wouldn’t be able to come back to the level needed to play with the boys.
“But I knew it was best for me.
“When you wake up for the last two months in pain and you can barely hold your daughter, it’s a tough one.
“You have to take a look in to your future and at the end of the day football is a small bubble in your life.
“You play until you are 30 years of age and you have another 70 years of living after that. I'd rather live healthy.
“I'd rather be out the back kicking the footy around with my daughter than getting gingerly off the couch because I pushed my body too far.”
Reed played 126 NRL games for the Broncos and five Tests for England, as well as being an All Star in 2012.
He also played in the drawn 2015 NRL Grand Final but says his NRL debut against the Cowboys in 2011 will remain his fondest memory apart from his wedding and the birth of Quinn.
“It's everything - as a kid you have the dream,” he said.
“But to come in every day, and pull on your jersey to play for your club, the place you live, is a massive thing.
“I'll remember every moment like it was my last and I have made some dear friends and lifelong connections.
SOURCE:
http://www.broncos.com.au/news/2016/09/07/reed_goes_out_in_sty.html
