Former Brisbane Broncos captain Darius Boyd recently announced he would be retiring at the end of the 2020 NRL season.

In recent times Boyd’s name has come with a negative connotation after a lacklustre 2019 which saw a significant drop in form and a mid-season switch to five-eighth, a position he’d never really played in before.

Last season the 32-year-old scored three tries, got six try assists and averaged 84.96 metres per game.

People tend to forget just how good he has been for the majority of his career tho.

Boyd debuted on the wing in 2006 and won his first premiership when the Brisbane Broncos defeated the Melbourne Storm 15-8 in the Grand Final.

In 2008 he’d have a breakout season debuting for both Queensland and Australia in the same year. Boyd would go on to play 28 Origin games, scoring 17 tries and win nine series with the Maroons. He played for the Kangaroos on 23 occasions, scoring 16 tries, featured in two World Cups whilst winning one in 2013.

"I don’t remember the first time I was told I would play in the National Rugby League. I was 18 years old, everything was happening at a crazy speed and everything was new."

Read the full📄letter penned by Darius here: https://t.co/YadhOXEIkB pic.twitter.com/xq30fSGKCV

— Brisbane Broncos (@brisbanebroncos) March 5, 2020

The following year would see the fullback move to the St George-Illawarra Dragons alongside coach Wayne Bennett where they won the 2009 minor premiership. They’d go one better in 2010, winning the Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters where Boyd took home the Clive Churchill Medal, arguably the biggest moment in his career.

He would once again follow Wayne Bennett in 2012, this time to the Newcastle Knights where the club would make one finals series in 2013, however, both coach and fullback would be on their way back to Brisbane in 2015 where the Broncos would, unfortunately, lose their first Grand Final as a club.

Darius Boyd may not have been at his peak for the past couple of seasons but he has played 321 NRL games, is a two-time premiership winner at separate clubs, won nine State of Origin series and he’s a World Cup winner. He certainly deserves respect and should be remembered for everything he has achieved in our game.