NRL premiership-winner Kyle Turner dies aged 31

During their afternoon game against the Knights, South Sydney will retire jersey number 15 in honor of their 31-year-old deceased premiership winner, Kyle Turner.

The adaptable forward, who played 91 games in the Rabbitohs’ first grade between 2014 and 2019, passed away on Friday.

In addition to retiring his jersey number, the Rabbitohs will honor Turner on Sunday by donning black armbands during their game against Newcastle.

“Kyle was a remarkable individual,” stated Blake Solly, CEO of Rabbitohs.

“He embodied the ideal rugby league player—a country boy. On the field, he was such a hard-charging player, but off the field, he was a kind, giving man.”

In the team’s historic 2014 grand final triumph, he came on as a substitute player, capping a rookie campaign that produced

He played twice for the Indigenous All Stars in 2015 and 2017 and was a representative of NSW Country in the final City vs. Country match of 2017.

Turner had difficulties in first grade due to an injury. Notably, during the 2015 All Stars game, he sustained a severe neck injury that required disc replacement surgery.

However, Turner continued to be a beloved member of the Redfern community, winning the Burrow Supporters Group Appreciation Award during the club’s 2016 awards ceremony.

Under Wayne Bennett, the new coach of the Rabbitohs, he fell out of favor in 2019 and was advised to look elsewhere for opportunities starting in 2020.

He went back to Coonabarabran, his hometown in northern New South Wales, where he taught school and performed for the local band, the Coonabarabran Unicorns.

Unicorns will dress in all-black.