South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL premiership winning star dies, aged just 31
South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL premiership winning star dies, aged just 31
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WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story contains the name and image of a deceased Indigenous person.
The national rugby league and the South Sydney Rabbitohs are mourning the loss of a player who won the grand final following his sudden death this week.
Kyle Turner has passed away at the age of 31 in his hometown of Coonabarabran after a stellar NRL career.
The country rugby league player rose to sporting fame when he played for the Rabbitohs in their grand final victory over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 2014.
Able to play on edge or center between 2014 and 2019, Turner made 91 first-class appearances for the Rabbitohs.
He started from the bench in the drought-breaking 2014 grand final win, the culmination of a 24-game rookie season.
South Sydney Rabbitohs grand final winner Kyle Turner has passed away aged 31, leaving the National Rugby League community in mourning
It was his first year in the top flight after years of playing in NRL youth teams, and he went on to make 25 appearances.
He suffered a serious neck injury during an All Stars game in 2015 and wore a neck brace from then on.
Turner also represented his rural roots in NSW country, playing for the Indigenous All Stars.
The backrower recovered and remained a regular until 2019 when he was unlinked from the Rabbitohs after making 91 total appearances for the side.
Turner retired at the age of 27 and moved back to his hometown in rural NSW, where he became a teacher and continued to play local rugby.
He also continued to perform for the Rabbitohs Souths Cares programme.
Tribute flows for the young Rabbitohs star who was part of the winning side in the 2014 premiership and retired from the sport aged 27
Tributes are streaming online for the former NRL star, with many fans expressing their shock at the tragic news.
“Kyle was a quiet lad but everyone at the club loved him – he was one of the good guys,” a Rabbitohs official told Wide World of Sports.
The Coonabarabran Unicorns Rugby League updated their social media logo with a black belt to honor Turner’s life.
Rest in peace Kyle Turner. So sad to hear he passed away,” one woman wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“He is a great player and winner of the 2014 premiership. I met him at Eastgardens in 2016, thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”
NRL fans agree Turner was ‘taken too early’.
One person wrote online, “Always a 2014 Rabbitoh premiership player, taken away too early. Only the good die young.’
Another person called the news “appalling.”
“(He) was always one of the nicest and most welcoming lads in Souths, and someone you were genuinely pleased to see win a premiership in 2014,” the social media user wrote.
“Thinking of all his family and friends, along with everyone in Souths and Coonabarabran.”
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are expected to make an official announcement regarding his passing this afternoon
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