South Sydney and Queensland rugby league captain Greg Inglis has announced his retirement from rugby league – effective immediately. The NRL legend has been suffering arthritis in his shoulder for some time, which has kept him off the field this season. Inglis will leave big shoes to fill at Souths and the Maroons.

Inglis won two grand finals with the Melbourne Storm in 2007 and 2009 (the premierships were stripped for systematic salary cap rorting), and captained Souths to premiership glory in 2014. He is also the all-time leading try scorer in State of Origin, with 18 from 32 appearances to go with his 31 from 39 appearances for Australia.

Inglis was also a key component of Queensland’s golden era, playing a key role in the dynasty that won 11 from 12 series from 2006 to 2017. Alongside Johnathon Thurston, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Darren Lockyer (followed by Cooper Cronk) Inglis was at the heart of a virtually unstoppable team, loaded with future Immortals of rugby league.

Following Smith’s representative retirement Inglis took over as Queensland captain in 2018. He was also named as the Australian captain, but this was stripped from him before he could lead the team on the field when he was caught drink driving.

Inglis has asked Souths for a release on his contract, in an attempt to have his pay not included in the salary cap for the remainder of this year and next year. He is transitioning into a support and mentorship role at the club, however, which will muddy the waters somewhat. Given the injury was known before he signed his contract (which expires in 2020) NRL rules state that any payout must be included in the cap.

He will now be a development coach for Souths, and an official mentor for Indigenous players. He is expected to be looked after by the club that he led to their first premiership in 43 years.