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Premiership-winning NRL star Luke Keary will announce his retirement at 32 in a bombshell for the NRL.
The former Souths grand final winner has been a driving force in the Roosters’ surprising success since dumping their rivals in 2017, helping them to back-to-back premierships in 2018 and 2019.
The fifth-eighth is under contract until the end of 2025, meaning he will sacrifice up to $800,000 in earnings, according to news corporation.
Keary’s future has been under a cloud in recent years due to the number of concussions he has suffered during his 212 first grade games.
Keary (pictured playing for the Roosters against Newcastle earlier this month) will soon announce he will retire at the end of the season.
In 2022, he criticized the NRL for not taking strong enough action to reduce the number of blows to players’ heads.
Keary suffered five concussions between January 2018 and May 2019, putting his immediate future in the game in doubt.
He missed five weeks of the 2022 season after a head knock against Melbourne and has called on the league to crack down on contact in training.
“We should have had less contact five years ago… I don’t know why it’s taken so long,” Keary said.
The 32-year-old (pictured with wife Amy) saw his playing future in doubt when he suffered a shocking run of concussions in 2018-2019.
His absence will be a blow to the Roosters, who also lose Joey Manu, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Angus Crichton at the end of the season.
‘They do it in the NFL. I don’t know how we haven’t done those studies and tests… I just don’t know how it hasn’t happened.
‘I spoke to some of these doctors and it’s the repeated hits you take during training. The constant whiplash… things like that. That that can’t be controlled is just strange.
“But they’re obviously doing some things now, they’ll get there, everyone knows they’ll get there.”
The club has previously lost stars Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend to early retirements due to problems recovering from concussions.
Keary will join teammates Joey Manu, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Angus Crichton in leaving the club at the end of the year, with that trio defecting to rugby union.
Veteran prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves also leaves to play in the Super League in England.