Kieran Foran today announced he will leave the Vodafone Warriors at the end of the 2017 season to be closer to his two children in Sydney.
“It has been an incredibly tough decision to make but it has reached the point where I had to make a call and I’ve done that today,” said the 26-year-old standoff.
“I love it so much here at this club and I have so many people to thank for helping me to get my life and my football career back on track.
“I really wanted to find a way of staying and spending more time here because it’s so good being around the boys and the people here. Every day I have a smile on my face when I come to training.
“But, in the end, it came down to my kids and what’s best for them. I need to be back in Sydney to be closer to them.
“Before I do there’s plenty to do here. I want to finish here as well as I possibly can. We can do something this year and I want to play my part in that.”
Vodafone Warriors managing director Jim Doyle said Foran’s decision is understandable.
“Of course, we would have liked Kieran to stay longer and we looked at ways of making that possible,” he said.
“I know how much he likes it here and how much he wanted to extend his time but his kids’ welfare is paramount. We support him in what he has decided to do and wish him all the best.
“For us, it has been great to see how far he has come getting his life back in order and now being in a position to be able to help the team on the field. He wants to finish the season strongly.”
Doyle said the club had options to consider now Foran’s future has been clarified.
“While we were hoping Kieran would stay we also knew there was a chance he would return to Sydney so we considered that in our planning,” he said.
Since making his Vodafone Warriors debut against Gold Coast on April 2, Foran has played in each of the Vodafone Warriors’ last five matches. His last outing against the Sydney Roosters on April 30 provided the 100th win in his 161 NRL appearances so far.