Brisbane veteran Darius Boyd has announced he will retire from the NRL at the end of the season.
The two-time premiership star confirmed the 2020 campaign would be his last for the Broncos at a press conference on Friday morning, despite another year remaining on his contract for 2021.
Flanked by Broncos chief executive Paul White and coach Anthony Seibold, Boyd said he’d made his decision during dinner with a friend last month who asked him if this would be his final season.
“It had been in the back of my mind but that one question made it feel urgent,” he said.
“I knew right then that this would be it.
“There are more reasons why it should be my last season rather than why it shouldn’t.”
The 32-year-old has played 317 NRL games for the Broncos, St George Illawarra and Newcastle, as well as 23 Tests for Australia and 28 State of Origin games for Queensland.
The former captain won premierships with the Broncos in 2006 and the Dragons in 2010, claiming the Clive Churchill Medal in the latter.
In recent years he has become an ambassador for mental health awareness and hopes to continue his work in the field beyond his NRL career.