PenrithPanthers utility Tyronel Peachey announced his retirement from the NRL this year.
Last weekend, while his former teammates were battling for a historic fourth consecutive premiership in the NRL Grand Final, Peachey was in Bathurst, participating in the annual Koori Knockout.
Choosing to represent his culture and family, Peachey spent the weekend playing for Nanima Common Connection (NCC) instead of attending the grand final
He helped lead NCC to the Koori Knockout final, but the reigning champions, Walgett Aboriginal Connection, secured a 46-12 victory.
Peachey missed the opportunity to be honoured in the retired players’ parade before the grand final and witness his former club make history with their fourth consecutive premiership win
“Whenever I get the opportunity to play for Nanima and put that jersey on with my brothers and cousins and family, I try to take that,” Peachey said to The Sydney Morning Herald.
“My team is called Nanima Common Connection, it’s a little mission just outside of Wellington, where I went to preschool.
“All the lads I played with, they are mostly from that area. We all went to school together, it’s pretty special to me.
“If I wasn’t playing NRL, I’d still be playing A-grade somewhere or doing the exact same thing. I’m just fortunate I got to play NRL for as long as I did.”
Peachey, who earned a premiership ring in last year’s grand final as the 18th man and made 209 NRL appearances, shared that he still felt a sense of fulfilment after his retirement announcement. He added that he had no regrets about missing the pre-match parade.
“The game has done so much for me, I don’t really need that send-off,” he said.
“I’m happy with how my career went, really happy with how I got to finish at the club I love. I was really satisfied with my career, the club has been nothing but great for me.
Even though Peachey played for multiple clubs during his NRL career, his final stop at the Penrith Panthers was where he felt most at home. Despite missing the Panthers’ grand final, he still had the opportunity to celebrate with the team on presentation night, soaking in the moment with his former teammates.
Peachey, who earned a premiership ring in last year’s grand final as the 18th man and made 209 NRL appearances, shared that he still felt a sense of fulfilment after his retirement announcement. He added that he had no regrets about missing the pre-match parade.
“The game has done so much for me, I don’t really need that send-off,” he said.
“I’m happy with how my career went, really happy with how I got to finish at the club I love. I was really satisfied with my career, the club has been nothing but great for me.
Even though Peachey played for multiple clubs during his NRL career, his final stop at the Penrith Panthers was where he felt most at home. Despite missing the Panthers’ grand final, he still had the opportunity to celebrate with the team on presentation night, soaking in the moment with his former teammates.
“I took less money to come to the club and just wanted to see if I still had that spark and that ability to be a good player, to make that team.
“I ended up being part of the 18 [players] that won the grand final last year. This year was pretty satisfying as well, I got to captain the NSW Cup team. They have got some good players and I’d never captained a team ever, so to make the finals was really special
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