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Dolphins hero and 'man of Stone' to retire from NRL
Scott Bailey, AAP • August 19th, 2026 10:00 pm
Ray Stone | Photo: AAP
Dolphins lock Ray Stone has been forced into retiring from the NRL at age 29, with the cult hero succumbing to persistent injuries.
Off contract at the end of this year, Stone has told his Dolphins teammates he will not play on beyond this year.
The lock had battled shoulder injuries to play almost all of last season, with Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf making special mention of his toughness at last year's presentation.
Stone's career has been one of toughness and was compared to a reliable old Kingswood from the 1970s with his football cut out of the same era.
He made his NRL debut in 2018 and has played 108 games.
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His five-year stint at Parramatta also ended prematurely in 2022, suffering a ruptured ACL while scoring a match-winning try in golden point.
By that point he had already signed for the Dolphins, becoming one of the club's foundation players.
"There is no doubt that Ray has come to our club and entrenched himself as a real hard man and one of our fans' favourite players," Dolphins CEO Terry Reader said.
"He will forever hold a place in our history as the second NRL player signed by the club, and he has returned that favour by playing every game in a tough and uncompromising manner.
"We will always be thankful to Ray for the effort he has put in for the Dolphins and wish him and his young family all the best for the future."
Stone returned from injury in last week's win over Manly, with the Dolphins eyeing off a top-four finish ahead of their first finals campaign.
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