The Mole: South Sydney Rabbitohs rocked by death of 2014 grand final winner Kyle Turner
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains the name and image of a deceased Indigenous person.
South Sydney has been rocked by the death of 2014 grand final winner Kyle Turner.
Turner, just 31, passed away suddenly in his home town of Coonabarabran this week.
A popular player who represented both NSW Country and the Indigenous All Stars, Turner had a fairytale rise to rugby league fame.
He was signed with the Bunnies in 2014 after being discovered by club scouts playing in his bush home and went on to play 25 games in his maiden season – including the historic grand final win over Canterbury.
He was a regular in the Souths team from 2014 until 2019, playing nearly 100 top grade games, before a serious neck injury brought a premature end to his career.
He returned home to Coonabarabran and made a brief comeback with the local team before turning his hand to school teaching.
“Kyle was a quiet kid but everyone at the club loved him – he was one of the good ones,” a Rabbitohs official told Wide World of Sports.
Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly said Turner will be fondly remembered.
“Kyle was an amazing human being,” Solly said in a statement released by the club
“He epitomised the country boy Rugby League player. He was such a tough, uncompromising player on the field, yet a lovely, generous man off the field.
“We offer our full support to his family and friends at this very difficult time, and he will always be remembered at our club as a man that delivered a premiership to the Rabbitohs, but also a man that connected deeply with his communities.
“We will hold him close to our hearts for the rest of this season and in the years to come. Vale Kyle Turner.”
The Rabbitohs will wear black armbands in Sunday’s game against the Knights, and his number 15 jersey will be retired and honoured on the interchange bench during the match.
