Newcastle Knightsโ Aidan Guerra has announced that he will retire at the end of the NRL season after a career spanning over 11 seasons.
The 32-year old second-rower has played 207 games for the Sydney Roosters and Newcastle Knights, joining the latter at the start of the 2018 NRL season and playing 53 of those games with the Knights.
He walks away from the game a premiership player with the Roosters in 2013 and playing 10 State of Origin games for Queensland and a represented Australia in a Test match.
Guerra made the decision public on Instagram, saying that the decision was a simple one, with an eye towards the future for him and his family.
โItโs a decision I am very comfortable with and am excited to see what the future holds for me, Bel and our little family,โ he said.
โThank you to my friends, family and all the great people Iโve met along the way that have supported me, helped me, doubted me or influenced me in anyway.
โI never could have dreamed of having a career like this, and I couldnโt have done it without you all.โ
Guerra said that he has been fortunate enough to play with some of the leagueโs best players and coached by the leagueโs finest coaches and was happy to call some of them mates for life.
โAnyone who knows me knows that itโs always been about more than football, itโs the good times shared off the field that makes what you achieve on the field so special, and Iโm lucky to have plenty of those memories in the bank,โ he said.
โLooking forward to finishing my career off with the great group of blokes here at the Knights and am excited for what life will bring after the final hooter sounds.โ
He came through the Melbourne Storm system before joining the Roosters. I would like to have had him at the Dragons for a few seasons.