Former Melbourne premiership winner Todd Lowrie has announced his NRL retirement.

The 32-year-old had signed a one-year deal to move from Brisbane to Newcastle for the 2016 season but has hung up his boots before he was able to pull on the Knights jersey again.

He will stay with Newcastle as coach of the club’s under 20s team.

Lowrie started his career at Newcastle before stints at Parramatta, Melbourne, Warriors and Brisbane, playing 202 games and in two grand finals during a 13-year career.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play in the NRL for a lot longer than I ever thought I would,” Lowrie said.

Danny Buderus, who took over as interim Knights coach following Rick Stone’s sacking this year, and former Wests Tigers coach Mick Potter, have also been added to Nathan Brown’s coaching staff.