Just like that, the career of a promising young footy player and a well-rounded young man is over. Yesterday Ben Henry announced his NRL retirement, retiring come season's end on the back of far too many major knee injuries, more than someone like Benry should endure. We constantly find ourselves asking 'why do the good die young?' because nothing is for certain and while this is a far better situation than life or death, the same idea can be applied here as Benry is apparently the sort of bloke who should have enjoyed a decade-long career with one NRL club.

Life and professional sport doesn't work like that. Benry's retirement is another example of how fragile professional sporting careers can be and any time a young lad retires from his sport, we are reminded of just how difficult having a long, sustainable professional career can be. It's just luck really and regardless of how nice Benry is, luck was never really on his side as he kept suffering major damage to that knee.

I'm not sure that the NZ Warriors have produced a player like Benry, who is as widely liked as Benry. The sadness that many fans felt was because as fans, we view Benry as an example of all that is good coming out of Mt Smart, if we as fans were to come up with prototype player to represent the Warriors on and off the field, it would be Benry.

On the field, Benry was just a solid footy player. His best position was as an edge forward, where he was big enough to handle himself against the many dynamic edge forwards in the NRL and mobile enough to pose a threat with the footy. Benry also spent time in the centres and that's simply because he was big enough yet quick enough to do a job in the centres, the similarities between him an another Warriors prototype Simon Mannering are obvious.

Earlier in the year I wrote a thingy about Benry which highlighted his in-between nature. To be honest, I kinda viewed this as a negative because there are edge forwards who are bigger, more powerful and more aggressive than Benry, then there are centres who are far quicker than Benry. Benry's versatility works against him in this regard, however that shouldn't take anything away from how we view Benry as he's exactly the sort of player that every NRL team needs and has. Benry could do a solid NRL job in a handful of different positions, regardless of what position he was asked to play, Benry would try his best and give a decent account of himself. That's all that you can ask.

My sadness stems from the fact that Benry won't be there to enjoy the best years of the NZ Warriors. As you all know, I've repeatedly said that the Warriors will be better next season and beyond as they have an extremely talented group of young players along with veterans who still have plenty to offer. Andrew McFadden is an extremely young coach who is learning, but he's learning with this group that should be together for at least a year or two and the chemistry is building, everyone involved in the Warriors from the players to coaching staff to office folk are stacking up day after day working together which will result in their Premiership window opening up over the next few years.

Benry, someone who was touted as a future skipper of the club, won't be there on the field to enjoy that period.

If Jah told us though that we had to go through this situation - one player suffering a horrible run of major injuries and retiring way too early - there wouldn't be a player at Mt Smart who is better prepared than Benry. Sure, this is immensely cruel, yet Benry is a young Warrior who is as well-rounded as they come. He's mature, he's smart, he's honest and he now has an opportunity to play a role in the growth of the Warriors as a footy club ...off the field.

Maybe that's Benry's destiny, ya know? Maybe Benry has more to offer the Warriors - in what I view as a bit of a golden period - in an off-field role? The Warriors, led by Jim Doyle, know exactly what Benry can offer the club and they know how beneficial it would be to Benry and the club to keep him in a hands-on role at Mt Smart.

To be brutally honest, I'm not sure how or where Benry would fit into this current Warriors team and a Warriors team over the next few seasons. There's two 80 minute edge forwards in Ryan Hoffman and Bodene Thompson, Bunty Afoa is showing that he's a dynamo and we've got a bit of a log-jam at centre with David Fusitua and Solomone Kata keeping Blake Ayshford out of the starting line up. I wouldn't select Benry over Thompson or Hoffman, nor would I select Benry over Kata or Fusitua and as Benry has spent more time in the physio room than on the field, we've become accustomed to Benry not being there. Other players have taken their opportunities and I'd also suggest that the NRL has swiftly moved forward, it's quicker and more based around power which isn't exactly suited to Benry's style.

And that's why I don't really view this as a negative, it's sad and all but I reckon Benry has more to offer this club off the field than he does in trying to re-establish himself in the NRL. Let me put it this way; would any of the current Warriors playing roster rival Benry as a future Warriors CEO? That's the ceiling for Benry's career now as he's got all the tools already and now he has an opportunity to learn, to sit under the wings of the coaching staff and Jim Doyle.

We only have to look at the appointment of Corey Payne as Penrith Panthers CEO, as an example of what's possible for players who don't enjoy long and successful NRL careers. Payne retired and then went hunting, he pursued knowledge and had a thirst to learn, at 31-years-old, Payne is the CEO of an NRL club. Those are traits that Benry has already shown and he's basically got everything he needs at the Warriors to take whatever avenue he wants.

Who knows what avenue Benry will go down but I am fairly certain that Benry will feature heavily during the upcoming NZ Warriors Premiership window and beyond.