League Immortal, Wally Lewis, quits 9NEWS sports in shock announcement
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Legendary ex-rugby player Wally Lewis has announced his retirement from 9NEWS, citing health reasons as the cause.
The rugby league legend, who is affectionately known as the 'King', made the announcement earlier today alongside Nine's Director of News Amanda Paterson.
Wally said it was time to 'prioritise his health' after a series of health scares, most notably medical concerns regarding his brain, in the past.
The life-long rugby player said he would be stepping back from his role as sports presenter effective immediately, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be fully retiring at this point.
'My health has made decisions for me in the past, so it's my turn to make decisions for my health,' he said.
'While I'll take more of a back seat role in the studio, 9NEWS viewers can still expect me to keep them up-to-date on the highs and lows of local and international sport, and of course, share my weekly NRL tips.'
While Wally is scaling back on his work requirements, the network is reportedly keen to keep him within the Nine family.
'The King is well and truly here to stay,' said Amanda.
'He continues to live up to being a legend on and off the field, and whether he is on the news desk or not, viewers will still get to welcome the Wally they know and love into their living rooms.'
'Wally is such an integral member of our newsroom and we are privileged to have him on our team. His health is and has always been our priority, so we are proud of him for making the call to put himself first.'
Formerly a professional rugby league player himself (who played for the Australian National Team and Queensland Maroons from 1971 to 1983), Wally has been a supporter of both the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and Former Origin Greats (FOGS).
'Beyond 9NEWS, I'll continue to call Wide World of Sports (WWOS) home, and there are some special 9 programmes in the pipeline that I'm also ready to tackle alongside my ongoing involvement with the QRL and FOGS,' he said.
'It's safe to say that no two weeks in my calendar will look the same this year, which is what I'm looking forward to the most.'
Despite having previously suffered from health issues concerning his brain, including a seizure back in 2006 which resulted in brain surgery and living with epilepsy, Wally said earlier this month that he didn't regret anything about his stellar rugby league career.
'We have this little tag in rugby league where they call rugby league “the greatest game of all”, and it was an absolute thrill and absolute privilege to play that game,' he remarked.
'But for a lot of guys, they wish that they could have done so without suffering severe head knocks.'
'But it's part of the game and there may be some guys that are a little bit angry about the outcome of their career. But to be honest, ask us if we'd change anything about the game, and they'd all say we won't change a thing.'
Wally also revealed that his father, who is 92 years old at the time of writing and suffers from dementia, had recently undergone successful brain surgery.
The rugby superstar said: 'It's time to ask people in this situation whether or not they have made their wishes clear for their funeral.'
Wally Lewis is a name that is synonymous with greatness. As a professional rugby league player, he set record after record — some that may never be broken.
But what truly sets him apart is his character and the way in which he has been able to use his fame and success to become an ambassador for charity.
So, what do you think of this, folks? What memorable moments have you had the privilege of watching at the hands of the great Wally Lewis? Tell us all about it in the comments!
The rugby league legend, who is affectionately known as the 'King', made the announcement earlier today alongside Nine's Director of News Amanda Paterson.
Wally said it was time to 'prioritise his health' after a series of health scares, most notably medical concerns regarding his brain, in the past.
The life-long rugby player said he would be stepping back from his role as sports presenter effective immediately, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be fully retiring at this point.
'My health has made decisions for me in the past, so it's my turn to make decisions for my health,' he said.
'While I'll take more of a back seat role in the studio, 9NEWS viewers can still expect me to keep them up-to-date on the highs and lows of local and international sport, and of course, share my weekly NRL tips.'
Rugby superstar and Nine's WWOS host Wally Lewis steps down from the post due to health concerns. Credit: Twitter/NRL.
While Wally is scaling back on his work requirements, the network is reportedly keen to keep him within the Nine family.
'The King is well and truly here to stay,' said Amanda.
'He continues to live up to being a legend on and off the field, and whether he is on the news desk or not, viewers will still get to welcome the Wally they know and love into their living rooms.'
'Wally is such an integral member of our newsroom and we are privileged to have him on our team. His health is and has always been our priority, so we are proud of him for making the call to put himself first.'
Formerly a professional rugby league player himself (who played for the Australian National Team and Queensland Maroons from 1971 to 1983), Wally has been a supporter of both the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and Former Origin Greats (FOGS).
'Beyond 9NEWS, I'll continue to call Wide World of Sports (WWOS) home, and there are some special 9 programmes in the pipeline that I'm also ready to tackle alongside my ongoing involvement with the QRL and FOGS,' he said.
'It's safe to say that no two weeks in my calendar will look the same this year, which is what I'm looking forward to the most.'
The 'King' will be refraining from reading the news but will continue working with Channel Nine. Credit: Instagram/Wally Lewis.
Despite having previously suffered from health issues concerning his brain, including a seizure back in 2006 which resulted in brain surgery and living with epilepsy, Wally said earlier this month that he didn't regret anything about his stellar rugby league career.
'We have this little tag in rugby league where they call rugby league “the greatest game of all”, and it was an absolute thrill and absolute privilege to play that game,' he remarked.
'But for a lot of guys, they wish that they could have done so without suffering severe head knocks.'
'But it's part of the game and there may be some guys that are a little bit angry about the outcome of their career. But to be honest, ask us if we'd change anything about the game, and they'd all say we won't change a thing.'
Wally also revealed that his father, who is 92 years old at the time of writing and suffers from dementia, had recently undergone successful brain surgery.
The rugby superstar said: 'It's time to ask people in this situation whether or not they have made their wishes clear for their funeral.'
Wally Lewis is a name that is synonymous with greatness. As a professional rugby league player, he set record after record — some that may never be broken.
But what truly sets him apart is his character and the way in which he has been able to use his fame and success to become an ambassador for charity.
So, what do you think of this, folks? What memorable moments have you had the privilege of watching at the hands of the great Wally Lewis? Tell us all about it in the comments!
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I was only having a conversation with my kids on Sunday, talking about the greats Peter Sterling , Russell Fairfax , Arty Beetson and the Great Wally Lewis .
