DEPARTING winger Edrick Lee says he will be forever grateful to the Newcastle Knights for supporting him through the toughest times of his life.
Lee signed off as a Knight after Sunday's season-ending 38-16 loss to Cronulla, having spent four seasons in the blue and red, during which time injuries restricted him to 41 games.
The towering Queenslander will be a foundation player next year with new NRL franchise the Dolphins, who have signed him to a two-season deal.
When Lee eventually packs the house and heads north, you won't find a person at the Knights with a bad word to say about him, and the feeling is mutual.
When Lee was heartbroken after his parents died within 18 months of each other, his Newcastle teammates rallied around him. When a broken bone in his foot threatened to end his career, they encouraged him to bounce back.
"This is a definitely a spot that my family and I will always hold close to our hearts," Lee said.
"The club has helped me a lot, on and off the field.
"When I had to go through the tough time of losing my parents, it was the playing group more than anyone who kept me going. It was the same when I had my injury. Everyone supported me, and it's a true testament to the club for looking after one of their own."
The 29-year-old admitted it "probably crossed my mind" that he would never play again after injuring his foot in the 2021 pre-season.
At the time, he had just returned from scoring a try on debut for Queensland in their State of Origin series triumph against NSW.
After his training-pitch mishap, he spent an entire season on the sidelines, and was not reinstated to the top side until round six this year.
"The physios at the time told me that if I put my head down and tried to get the injury right, that I'd come out the other side.," Lee said.
"I managed to do that, so I'm forever grateful to the club, the community and the fans as well."
Lee rapidly made up for lost time after returning to the top grade, finishing the season with 14 tries in 16 games to join fellow wingman Dominic Young on top of the try tally.
That included a club-record five-try haul in Newcastle's 38-12 thrashing of Gold Coast in round 16.
"The tries I've scored have been because of the hard work in the middle of the field," Lee said.
"To come back from my injury and score one try was always going to be pretty special.
"To come back and score as many tries as I did, there's a lot of great memories there.
"Five tries in a game was pretty special, but what was even more special was seeing the faces of my teammates and people in the crowd."
Knights coach Adam O'Brien said Lee was a player who "puts plenty of bums on seats" and has been "such a popular member of the playing group".
"You never see Eddy down," O'Brien said. "He just walks through that front door with a big smile on his face."
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