Knights playmaker Blake Green has announced his immediate retirement after 14 seasons in the top grade in Australia and England, with Newcastle now able to target two mid-season recruits.
The 34-year-old made his debut with Parramatta in 2007 and played 270 games with stints at the Sharks, Bulldogs, Warriors, Storm and Sea Eagles, plus two seasons at Hull Kingston Rovers.
He joined Newcastle in 2020 and returned to the field this year following a season-ending ACL injury.
"I can still see everything clearly on the field and know where I need to be, but unfortunately my body stopped getting there," Green said.
"I'm always honest with myself, my teammates and our staff. It hurt, but once I knew retirement was the right call I owed it to everyone to do it as quickly as possible for the betterment of our football club."
Green's retirement means Newcastle have two spare spots in their 30-man squad, which means they could bring in transfer targets Jake Clifford – who has already signed with the club for next season – and Broncos prop Matt Lodge in the coming weeks.
