St Kilda player Dylan Roberton has decided to put "family and future first", with the defender today announcing his retirement from the game, effective immediately.
Roberton, 29, played just one game last season after making his way back from a scary incident in 2018, where he collapsed on-field during a game.
The incident led to the defender missing the entire 2019 season due to ongoing concerns surrounding a heart condition.
Despite making a brief comeback last year, Roberton recently took a two-month hiatus from AFL commitments as he weighed up whether to continue his career.
That decision has now been made, with Roberton announcing his immediate retirement, citing a desire to put himself and his family first.
"I've come to a point where I need to put my family and future first," Roberton told the club's website.
"Football has been a huge part of my life for such a long time and I've never lost my passion for the game - but after lengthy discussions with my family and on the advice of my doctors, I've made the extremely hard decision to hang up the boots.
"I'm so grateful for the support of the entire St Kilda Football Club, particularly Dr. Tim Barbour and Tony Brown, whose support and friendship has been unwavering over the past three years in particular."
Today's announcement marks an unlucky end to his 129-game career between the Dockers and Saints.
Roberton in 2017 was also named in the 40-man All-Australian squad.
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten said Roberton would "remain an asset" to the club's program for the remainder of the year.
"Dylan is a much loved and well-respected member of our club," Ratten said.
"He should be really proud of how he has dealt with everything life has thrown at him – it's a real credit to his character.
"During his time off training, he's really embraced the challenge of supporting the football program.
"Dylan has a great footy brain and he'll remain an asset to our program for the remainder of 2021.
"He has our full support in this decision, and Dylan, Amy, Boston, Henry and Pip will always be part of the Saints family."
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
No comments:
Post a Comment