Roosters, Blues and Kangaroos captain Boyd Cordner is set to officially announce his retirement from rugby league on Monday.
Cordner, 29, has not played since he was concussed in Game I of the 2020 State of Origin series, with his career ultimately cut short due to repeated head knocks.
The forward is set to join become the third star Rooster to retire this season, following Brett Morris and Jake Friend, the latter retiring due to issues with concussion as well.
Rugby league great Cameron Smith was a teammate of Cordner’s for Australia and he paid tribute to the retiring star on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“From my point of view, he’s made the right decision,” Smith said.
“He’s still a young man, he’s only 29 and he’s got a lot of time left in his life.
“Of course rugby league has been a huge part of his life up to this point, but there’s plenty of years to come for him to share with his friends and family.
“It is a shame because he’s one of the great players and has been for some time now and he’s a lovely fella, I can’t speak highly enough of Boyd Cordner.
“I got to play numerous games alongside him in green and gold, and I always thought he was one of the great people of rugby league.
“His family as well, I got an opportunity to meet his family over the years and they’re lovely country people.
“He’s done everything, when you sit down and think about his situation, he’s spent a fair bit of time out of the game now.
“But he’s won multiple premierships, he’s a premiership captain with the Roosters, he’s won State of Origin series with the Blues as captain, and in the end, he was Australian captain as well.
“It’s a wonderful, decorated career that Boyd’s had, it is unfortunate that it’s been cut short, but he’s done more than most and he should be very proud of what he’s achieved and what he’s contributed to the game of rugby league.”
Cordner won three premierships with the Roosters (2013, 2018, 2019), captained New South Wales to back to back Origin series wins (2018 and 2019) and was Australian captain from 2018 until his retirement.
He leaves the game with 181 NRL games, 20 international games and 16 Origin appearances.