Bold claim: a once-daring athlete now questions whether he’ll ever return to professional sport. Ryan Papenhuyzen has effectively shut the door on playing professionally in 2026, following his surprise departure from Melbourne Storm. He left in the final year of his contract amid ongoing links to a rebel league, R360.
What comes next? The breakaway competition remains on hold, yet Papenhuyzen insists he always treated next year as a clean slate. The 27-year-old has declared that his future is a “blank canvas” and that he has no regrets about walking away from his Storm deal. He says the delay of R360 hasn’t affected him because playing sport isn’t his intention next year—aside from golf.
“I’ve always planned next year as a gap year for sport in general, so the only sport I’ll be playing is golf,” Papenhuyzen said after the Australian Open pro-am at Royal Melbourne on Wednesday. “The plan was to have a year off and try a few different things to see how it goes, so that hasn’t changed for me.”
Life’s short, he adds. If he imagines his 80-year-old self looking back, the regret wouldn’t be failing to chase glory in the rungs of professional sport; it would be neglecting a chance to try something new. He has spent nearly a decade in rugby league and sport, and now he’s open to pivoting toward other paths. There’s always a possibility of returning someday, which he acknowledges as a hopeful option.
Right now, Papenhuyzen doesn’t see himself putting on football boots again. “Maybe touch football at a local park, but honestly, right now, no,” he said. He concedes he might weigh all options if that familiar feeling returns, but for now he views the future as a blank canvas ready to be written.
Away from the field, he has developed an interest in psychology and mental performance, especially during long injury layoffs. He’s begun mentoring and coaching a few younger athletes and is exploring a potential new career path in this area. He notes how beneficial his own career has been and hopes to share those lessons with others facing difficulties. He’s enjoying the current balance of mentoring, golf, and visiting family—something he didn’t have much opportunity to do in recent years.
His only upcoming sporting commitment is a golf invitational at Cathedral Lodge Golf Club in rural Victoria next week, where he’ll be caddying for Daniel Gale at the Cathedral Invitational. This could hint at a future in a different sports-adjacent role, underscoring how quickly the next chapter could unfold.
