St Helens' Australian back-row forward Chris Flannery is set to retire from playing at the end of the season and "do a bit of surfing".
The former Queensland Origin player, who turns 32 in June, is out of contract at the end of the year and will not seek an extension.
"I think this will be my last year," he said during a break in preparations for Friday's Stobart Super League clash with Catalan Dragons at Langtree Park.
"We're going to go back to Australia after this. We've been over here for four and a half, nearly five years now. We've got a couple of young kids so it's time to get back to Australia.
"Hopefully, I'll have a big year this year and finish it off in the right fashion."
Flannery, who joined St Helens on a three-and-a-half-year deal in the summer of 2007, played in four consecutive losing Super League Grand Finals but missed his side's fifth successive defeat by Leeds last October because of injury.
The tough-tackling forward, who won the 2002 NRL Premiership with Sydney Roosters, is unlikely to seek a new club when he returns home.
"I think I'll hang the boots up," he said. "I'll go back and get some of that sunshine, to the house on the beach and do a bit of surfing. I'm looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, Australia are to scrap their controversial play-off system in favour of the one used in Super League.
On the eve of the new NRL season, the newly-formed Australian Rugby League Commission announced on Wednesday that the convoluted McIntyre model is to make way for a more even-handed top-four, bottom-four format.
The top eight will be divided into two separate groups in week one of the play-offs, as happens in Super League and used to happen in the old Australia Rugby League.
Team one will meet team four and second will play third, with the winners going through to week three with home advantage and the losers receiving a second chance in week two.
In the other pool, the fifth-ranked side will take on team eight while six plays seven, with the winners travelling away to the top-four losers in week two.
The McIntyre system has been used since 1999 but was criticised for failing to reward the teams finishing in the top four and providing potential 'leg-ups' for those clubs ranked further down.
"As the competition has become closer and the impact of 'home-and-away' finals matches even more significant, the system has become a source of increasing debate," said ARLC chief executive David Gallop.
"The allocation of 'home venues' in the second week of the McIntyre system has been a particular concern.
"After going through a thorough process, we are confident that this is the right time for this change."
