Newcastle five-eighth Blake Green has announced his immediate retirement from the NRL, saying his body simply is not up to the rigours of the game anymore.
The 34-year-old told Knights teammates on Tuesday, with the move now freeing up space in the club s salary cap for the rest of the season.
Green s retirement opens the door for Brisbane prop Matt Lodge and potentially North Queensland half Jake Clifford to join the Knights within the next fortnight.
A journeyman half, Green joined the Knights midway through 2020 and played three games before suffering an ACL injury.
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He returned to play another six games this season.
He returned to play another six games this season. I can still see everything clearly on the field and know where I need to be, but unfortunately my body stopped getting there, Green said. I m always honest with myself, my team-mates and our staff. It hurt, but once I knew retirement was the right call I owed it to everyone to do it as quickly as possible for the betterment of our football club. It brings to an end a decorated career for Green which took him through seven NRL clubs and 270 first-class games across 14 seasons in Australia and England.