Super League star announces retirement

The likes of Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves, Hull FC and Hull KR have all completed major signings for 2024.

Huddersfield Giants have also gotten in on the act signing Jack Murchie.

However new signings mean exits and the Giabts have confirmed plenty.

It has now been confirmed that another player has retired.

Today Nathan Peats has announced his retirement from Rugby League after 13 years. The Huddersfield Giants hooker will be a part of Ian Watson’s team for the final time against Warrington Wolves this Friday, in the Giants final Super League game of the 2023 season.

Peats will be calling time on a career that has seen him play for 13 years, at first grade level, across three countries, with seven clubs and over 230 appearances at both club and representative level.

His career began back in his native Australia with his boyhood club the South Sydney Rabbitohs. After playing as a part of their youth set up, even captaining them in the 2010 Toyota Cup Grand Final, Peats would go on to make his First Grade debut in Round 4 of the 2011 NRL season in a 32-30 win over the Manly Sea Eagles. It was a moment that Peatsy would never forget after having worked so hard for so long to get to that point.

As a 20-year-old Peats had a fantastic debut season as a junior racking up 20 appearances and even scoring his first try on July 31st 2011 against St George Illawarra. A fantastic game which South Sydney won 34-24 after having been 20-0 after only 35 minutes.

Peats would go on to make 54 appearances for the Souths before making the move to Parramatta Eels in 2014. During his time at Souths, Peats would also go on to represent both the Indigenous All Stars against the NRL All Stars (2012) & New South Wales City Origin team against the Country Origin (2013).

Peats is move to Parramatta came during a period where the, then, young rising hooker was a target by many clubs with the Eels being the club to pull Peats away from his boyhood side. Peats would go onto make 35 appearances in two and a half season at the Eels, before logistical issues surrounding the salary cap at the Eels meant that Peats had to move on and found himself on the Gold Coast.

It was here at the Gold Coast Titans that Nathan Peats would go on to realise a lifelong and childhood dream. It was his second season at the Gold Coast and Peatsy was selected for the New South Wales Blues Origin Side. Peats would play in all three games of the famous State of Origin Series. It’s fair to say that Peats left a mark during the series he may not have won the Origin series he was a part of but after his Blues debut Rugby League Legend Matty Johns said “He’s granite-tough. The Bigger the game the harder he goes. What he did in the defence was unbelievable. One of the great debuts!”

Peats then went on to play at the Titans for a further three season up until 2020.

On April 11th 2021 Nathan Peats made his debut in England for the Leigh Centurions against the Giants in Round 3 of the Challenge Cup, and despite scoring against us in that game Peats ended up on the losing side with the Giants winning 36-18. Peats played 11 games in total for Leigh that season before coming to the Giants on loan for the rest of the 2021 season on July 11th.

After making 12 appearances for the Giants, Peatsy’s loan finished and he made the move over to France, where he spent half the 2022 season with Racing Club Albi before spending the rest of his year with Super League new boys Toulouse.

At the conclusion of the 2022 season, Peats moved back to England making his return to Huddersfield where he has been ever since. Despite being his final season in Rugby League, Peats has made more appearances in 2023 than he ever has in a single season, playing 24 times ahead of the final game against Warrington on Friday.

Nathan Peats time at the Giants has seen him become a centre of defence. Just behind Luke Yates, when Peats is on the field there are few who get more stuck in that the Huddersfield no9.

Rugby League couldn’t have given much more to Peats. He debuted, played and scored for his boyhood club, he has played at 9 in and around some of the biggest names in Rugby League and has played a part in State of Origin, an achievement that very few can claim to have experienced. Having spent time with and around Nathan Peats, one thing is for sure, he is a man who bleeds Rugby League. His knowledge and experience are a mighty asset to have in the side.