DAVID Stagg has this morning announced 2015 will be his last season in the NRL.
After a 13-season career, that included a stint with the Bulldogs, Stagg will hang up his worn Nike boots at the end of the season.
Ever the club servant, Stagg said he would continue training until the end of the year in case the Broncos need his terrier-like tackling skills in September.
Stagg has played just one NRL game in 2015, but it was the kind of effort that epitomised his career, doing the job for coach Wayne Bennett in May when all the Broncos’ Origin stars were out.
He helped lead a young side to victory over the Knights in Newcastle in what was an important two competition points for the Broncos.
Stagg’s was part of the Broncos’ last premiership in 2006, where he played a joint role of outside back in attack, but middle forward in defence.
It was a pivotal positional switch that helped release eventual Clive Churchill Medal winner Shaun Berrigan to be his devastating best during the finals series.
Stagg also played State of Origin for Queensland that year, being part of the first year of the glorious eight-season undefeated run of the Maroons.
He was also a member of a losing a grand final team with the Bulldogs in 2012.
And Stagg did it all after growing up and living with a hearing impairment that he admits not all his teammates knew about.
The humble Norths Aspley junior Stagg currently sits on 205 NRL matches and will retire at the end of the season with many achievements.
“For a guy who has never been the flashiest guy, who just went about his work and did his job for the team, I have been pretty lucky to have played over 100 games for the Broncos and over 200 NRL games,” he said.
