Robbie Farah has given the strongest indication yet that next season will be his swansong, with the veteran Rabbitohs rake declaring it "more than likely" that he will retire at the end of 2018.
The 33-year-old has played 15 seasons in the NRL – all but one of those at the Wests Tigers – and is 29 games shy of reaching the magical 300-game mark, but it appears as though Farah is leaning towards retirement once his South Sydney contract runs out at the end of next year.
Farah still has plenty to offer and was recently named Lebanon captain for the upcoming World Cup but conceded he couldn't see himself playing well into his 30s like fellow veterans Paul Gallen and Chris Heighington.
"You're never going to say whether it is or isn't, but I'm off contract next year," he said.
"I turn 34 in January so I'm not getting any younger and to be honest, I don't want to be one of those guys who's running around at 36 or 37. If you ask me, I think Gal and Heighno are crazy; I couldn't think of anything worse!
"This year was a disappointing year on the field not playing semis so it'd be nice – if next year is going to be my last year – to go out on a good note and hopefully we can get back in the semis."
Speaking to media at the Overseas Passenger Terminal on a sparkling afternoon in Sydney, Farah laughed at suggestions he would trade it all in for a move to the English Super League where sunshine is about as common as hens' teeth.
"I don't think I have any ambitions to go over there," he scoffed.
"If something comes up then you cross that path if and when it does come up, but if you're asking me right now then it's a no."
Farah also addressed reports linking him with a move to the Bulldogs, telling media the rumour was hit on the head by former Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire the morning the story broke.
"Madge addressed it with me that morning," he confirmed.
"There was a report in the paper… and Madge addressed it straight away and put it to bed and that was it as far as I was concerned and as far as the club was concerned."
While Maguire won't be there in 2018, Farah believes things won't drastically change under new coach Anthony Seibold given he was an assistant at the club in 2017 but is expecting the well-credentialed mentor to make some minor adjustments as the Rabbitohs look to end a two year finals drought.
"There won't be too much of a transition because he was there this year in an assistant coach capacity. Things won't change too much for us but he'll have his own ideas that he'll want to implement," Farah said.
"There's no doubt he'll want to implement a few things, and he'll probably have to because we've had a couple of lean years at the Bunnies. We're a club that demands success, so two or three years without finals footy isn't good enough and we need to turn things around pretty quickly."
One of the areas that plagued the Rabbitohs last season was the constant chopping and changing in key positions.
A season-ending knee injury to Greg Inglis in Round 1 meant the likes of Cody Walker and Alex Johnston were battling it out for the fullback role while the No.9 jersey never found a permanent home with Farah and Damien Cook swapping starting roles on an almost weekly basis.
"I've got no idea what 'Seebs' is thinking there," Farah replied when asked whether he would start next year.
"Madge chopped and changed us around at times depending on what the opposition was or how the team was playing and things like that.
"Me and Cooky were working really hard on that combination when we were on the field together or when one was starting and the other was on the bench. We'll continue to work hard throughout the pre-season with whatever ideas Seebs has got."
