A former Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls player has announced his retirement from the sport, aged 27.
Josh Jordan-Roberts came through at the Rhinos academy, and made his senior debut for the club in 2016 in victory to Leigh Leopards.
He made one further appearance in Blue and Amber, that coming in defeat to Wigan Warriors, as he formed part of a heavily rotated side as Leeds prepared for a Challenge Cup semi-final over Hull FC the following week. That game also saw the debut of current Rhinos star Harry Newman.
The son of former Huddersfield Giants and Oldham player, Rob Roberts, the forward had loan spells at Bradford Bulls and Hunslet, before making a permanent move to York Knights in 2018.
There, he featured 30 times, before a move to Rochdale Hornets came in 2021 and a return to Hunslet occurred the following year.
The most recent season has seen him turn out for Midlands Hurricanes, with the prop making 12 appearances for the Birmingham-based outfit.
In total, he has played 147 matches across a 10-year period, scoring 30 tries and kicking 26 goals.
“Thank you rugby league” – Former Leeds Rhinos man hangs up boots
However, Jordan-Roberts has now announced his decision to step away from the game, citing injuries as the main reason.
In a statement posted on LinkedIn, the ex-Rhino confirmed he will be retiring from the game in order to recover from previous injurie and to protect himself from any future damage.
The full statement reads:
“Thank you rugby league.”
“10 professional seasons, 147 career appearances, 1 messed up knee and countless memories.”
“I’ve announced my retirement from the game with immediate effect. I need to take the time to look after my own body. For years I’ve said that my knee is sweet and I’ll just strap it up just to be able to play because that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do since first picking a ball up at the age of 4. No rugby player I know wants to admit that they are injured – that’s the same for me.”
“So to those players who have shared a field with me – thank you. To those coaches who’ve impacted my journey- thank you. To those physios and medical teams – thank you but sorry I lied to you…I just wanted to play!”
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