Castleford Tigers’ Jake Mamo says the unbearable pain of a recent back injury helped him decide to retire at the age of just 28.
The Super League club confirmed today that the Australian utility back had quit professional rugby league with immediate effect.
One of the sport’s most enigmatic characters, Mamo has often proved a dazzling player on and off the field during a career which started out at NRL side Newcastle Knights.
He moved to the UK with Huddersfield Giants in 2017 but has his most productive stint with Warrington Wolves where he scored 30 tries in just 62 games before joining Castleford at the end of 2021.
However, at the start of only the second year of a three-year contract, Mamo has now departed, his last game being in the 24-6 loss against St Helens on February 26.
He said: “There were a lot of factors that came into the decision with the main one being that I’ve suffered too many head knocks and injuries.
“I suffered a bad back injury in my last game against Saints and I couldn’t move for three days after that. I thought to myself that I never want to feel like that ever again.
“Rugby league has given me a lot and also given me the chance to move over here to the UK. I’ve had good relationships with fans at all the clubs I have been at and that is going to be the thing I miss the most.
"The Castleford fans especially because I always spent time after the games getting round to talk to them and they’ve been really good to me.
“I look back on my time at Cas fondly and I have enjoyed my couple of years at the club but felt this was the right decision for me moving forward.”
