He may not be a name on the tip of everyone’s tongue but Aaron Booth had some good rugby league moments in his career, one that will now end prematurely due to injury.
Most recently at the Gold Coast Titans, Booth, just 27, has taken medical advice from doctors about his future and will retire from rugby league.
He will not be lost to the game, however, with Booth to have both an administrative role with the Titans and work as an assistant coach with the NRLW side.
Despite the early retirement as a player, Titans CEO Steve Mitchell is excited to see Booth remain involved with the club.
“Aaron is a fantastic individual and I’m so pleased that he will remain around our club,” Mitchell said.
“I’m disappointed that injuries cost us seeing the best of Aaron Booth on-field, but I’m excited for him to move into the next phase of his career.”
Mitchell also opened up slightly on the nature of the two roles that Booth is set to have at the Titans.
“Aaron has a great footy brain and he is already showing his talents as a coach under Karyn Murphy in our NRLW program,” Mitchell continued.
“He will also move into an administrative role which will allow him to be involved in the business side of the club as well as his coaching duties.”
Booth, who also played NRL with the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Melbourne Storm said it was a tough decision but the right one after medical consultaiton.
“Obviously I wanted to keep playing as I’m only 27, so it was a hard call to make,” Booth said.
“After many conversations with medical opinions I trust, it is best for my long-term health that I make the decision to retire.”
Although Booth wanted to return, he knew that such was the nature of his injury that he would never be able to get back to the daily grind of the NRL.
“I’ve probably been feeling it for a little while that it (knee) isn’t getting back to the level I’d like it to be at,” Booth continued.
“It was a gruesome injury and it’s been a long recovery and unfortunately it’s not going to get back to a level to handle the NRL schedule.