Stevie Ward announcing his retirement from the sport and no mention of thanks to Sinfield or the Rhinos for the support they have given him.
He thanks all the players he has played with and against along with his partner but unless I`m missing something there`s no mention of the club which does seem odd.
Is he in a court battle?

It sounds like it doesn’t it. Hopefully we’ve read too much into it but seems strange. I think it would be rather unfair against the club if so. I fully feel very sorry for Steve he’s been a great player and a top top lad but I’d doubt he’s been treated in a way that’s lead to his retirement by the club. I hope he can secure his future in the sport I’m sure he would have great input on players welfare etc for the benefit of the wider game.

Rhino's posted that they will have a special 30 minute interview with Stevie Ward available to watch tonight from 7pm as he looks back on his career at the Rhinos following today’s announcement - on YouTube Rhino's page

Feel sick to my stomach that he's had to retire.

I really hope that we can keep him within the game as he seems such a humble down to earth young man and its a crying shame that he cant continue his playing career, though Im sure it wasnt an easy choice to make, with the circumstances and ongoing fallout from these debilitating concussions im glad that hes albeit reluctantly decided to give up the sport we all love and put his long term health first.

Gutted on fans level, but no surprise.
I'm actually not that gutted for him, as he has so much to offer in other things that he does. This game brakes players. Think we need to remember that when we are dishing out criticisms.....

Its a very sad end to a promising career , however i think its the right call its one thing coming back from reconstructed shoulder ops & knee ligament ops vmbut you cant & never should gamble with brain injuries.
Personally id love to see him as the Clubs welfare officer & Acadamy Mentor.

Agreed. The boys a class act...

I wish him well for the future in any job he does. If he takes legal action against the club that is his choice and it’s for Leeds their lawyers and insurance to defend their position.
The problem with Rugby League and our sport in general is we don’t take the lead in areas of players welfare. Having watched a lots of Rugby league over the years the same principle of hurting players has always been a legal way of stopping players. The number of head high shots is unbelievable in our game today to the point, one day a tackle will result in a death. The number of head high tackles in the last game against Catalans was disgraceful, we have two linesmen, a referee a video Ref and they miss more than they see. It’s become a situation in Union that one headshot you get a yellow card two and you receive a red card plus a long ban. Certain Catalan players can only tackle over the shoulder and above, it needs changing there should be no room in our game for head high tackles. The only way to stop it is to send off players. They will soon get the message.
Head high shots are illegal yet they are as common today as they were years ago. It’s time to come down high on the culprits and send them off.
Maybe taking legal action against the clubs for damages may be hard and expensive, but taking action against the referees will be a lot easier especially when they have to apply the laws to the game, they have TV refs to help, so it’s time everyone got their act together for the long term health of the players

Shame for Stevie but he is very sensible to think about his health first.

Hopefully a good rest and then if he does get the itch again why not consider playing at amateur level and see where that takes him.

Hopefully with the demise of the game's reserves league other players return to their roots rather than lose their interest in the game.

I think professional clubs have the ideal opportunity to strengthen their links with their local clubs and keep fringe players fit at the same time by registering players if they so wish.

He's a decent looking lad. I wonder if a media career might be an option.

Taking legal action against referees? Please tell me you are joking?

The game in the late 70s and 80s was far worse than now. There arent many Tamati's or Boyds running around these days. Discipline is better now than in those days as is player welfare and the medical staff pitchside. The issue is the players are now bigger, stronger and more athletic and the 10m rule means the collisions have greater impact than in years gone by in my opinion.

The game is faster, the players are stronger and the collisions are at a faster pace and with more force.

I dont believe most head high tackles are malicious these days, i think most occur when a player is heading down or when a defender is beaten by the attackers footwork.

Not enough, even these days, is known about concussion and a lot more research needs doing into it but head high tackles will always happen in every game of RL thats just the nature of it.

Stevie Ward was a fantastic and hes a cracking kid. Its a real shame hes had to retire at such a young age. He was used wrongly in his early Leeds career which has lead to so many injuries over the years. Weve lost a real talent. I hope the club continue to support Stevie as much as possible to help him recover fully. Leeds has shown what a caring club it is with Rob so fingers crossed it helps Stevie moving forward.

You can't compare the impacts from the 70's and 80's with what we have seen in more recent history. SBW has done more damage in a single game with, at the time, legal shoulder charges than Boyd did in his entire career (two notable exceptions to that obviously). I think that there are far too many high shots in RL. Watching the NRL is like watching an advert for brain damage. It's not even disguised , start your "hit" just above the ball and then ride up and smack the guy in the head and get away with it, or roll the player in the tackle and ram his head into the ground with a forearm. All at full speed. At least they outlawed the shoulder charge which was at best "reckless" and at worst attempted GBH.

IMO there is still too much macho BS around RL. The game is about skill, the best moments in RL that I remember are all skill based. Of course we will hear the cries of "we don't want to watch touch", which is of course nonsense. We have constant fannying about with rules at the PTB when we really need to look at the tackle height. If this does not happen prepare for class action law suits against the game from former players. It will happen.

There are many on here who thing the shoulder charge should be brought back - and it legal for the ball carrier to lead with the shoulder which seems odd to say the least.

Big hits are great to see but these don't involve the head at all - Marc Glanville was a great exponent - when he tackled you you knew about it i.e. you were struggling to breath not out of it with concussion.

On Stevie Ward - this is a tragedy - but anyone playing second row with Gale with suffer like this - he sees them as expendable collateral in his managing of the game. Look at the last play where Ward got the second concussion. Oliver Holmes is another player who is completely beat up too as in Nathan Sykes.

The problem with RL players is not how they look it’s when they start to speak. You then realise that they are a little short on education.
Imagine LMS as a commentator, now that would be interesting

Baz and Tez get away with it.