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Russell Packer has announced his status from the NRL aft 184 archetypal people games, taking arguably the astir contentious declaration successful the crippled disconnected the books of the Wests Tigers.
Packer finishes up his NRL vocation having played with the Warriors, Dragons and astir precocious the Tigers, who helium joined connected a monolithic 4 twelvemonth woody during the Ivan Cleary era.
The 31-year-old was famously handed an NRL lifeline erstwhile successful 2015, helium joined the Dragons aft serving a jailhouse condemnation for assaulting a man, which had threatened to extremity his rugby league career.
Following 3 years astatine the Dragons, Packer joined the Tigers connected a reported $3 cardinal woody implicit 4 seasons but has since lone played 33 games for the Concord-based club. The prop has yet earned much than $90,000 per crippled for the Tigers, with the woody becoming a immense contented for the club's wage headdress arsenic the front-rower struggled done signifier and wounded issues and dropped retired of archetypal grade.
Packer played 19 games successful his archetypal play with the Tigers successful 2018 nether Cleary, however, helium has struggled to spot clip connected the tract nether Michael Maguire.
"Rugby league has been my beingness since I was 17 and it's ever been a constant, truthful I'll decidedly miss that," Packer said successful a nine statement.
"I got to play successful a expansive last and play for New Zealand aboriginal successful my career, and portion my beingness took a antithetic path, being capable to travel backmost and re-establish myself and scope the pinnacle again with planetary shot was a precise peculiar infinitesimal for maine and my family.
"I'm incredibly arrogant of the mode we person fought done the adversity we have.
"With the injuries excessively that I've had successful the past fewer seasons, this determination is thing that I've been contemplating for a while. But it's allowed maine to beryllium thankful this twelvemonth and permission it each retired there.
"I've noticed peculiarly done COVID conscionable however peculiar athletics tin beryllium and I've truly enjoyed what I person been capable to execute successful the game.
"I'm besides incredibly thankful for the accidental I had to skipper Wests Tigers/
"I ne'er expected to beryllium made skipper of a club, truthful it was a monolithic infinitesimal for not lone myself but each who person been connected the travel with maine to get to that point."
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