If this the end for Jordan Rapana at Canberra, then at least he’s got there.
The Raiders star has given his biggest indication yet that Sunday’s NRL grand final could be his last at the club, saying he’s got one more game to go.
Off-contract at the end of the season, Rapana has been heavily linked with a lucrative move to Japanese rugby under former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
The Canberra winger has been reluctant to discuss his future beyond this year, preferring to keep his focus on helping the club end a 25-year title drought.
“No one knows what the future has in store. I don’t know what the future has in store for me,” Rapana told AAP.
“But what I do know is that I’m still a Raider. I’ve got one more game.
“Whatever happens after that, it’s out of my hands. I’m just focused now. I’ve got one more game and I’ve got to try and win this grand final with the boys.”
The 30-year-old has played six of his seven years in the nation’s capital, having played the first five years of his career with Gold Coast from 2007.
And while he concedes the decider could be his last game of his career, Rapana said it was vital the team remained focused on ending a quarter-century wait for glory.
“Absolutely it means a lot to me,” he said.
“But you got players that have played their whole careers and never been in this position. Jarrod Croker, he’s been here 12 years and is in his first final.
“I know we’ve got to make the most for people like him, (Josh Papalii) and Jack Wighton, who’ve been here for so long. I’m really excited and can’t wait.”
In fact, the New Zealand international pointed to the fact that most of the team that fell one game short of a grand final in 2016 have stuck it out at the club.
Ten of the 17 players that were knocked out by Melbourne in the grand final qualifier will take the field against the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium.
“Even those two years where we missed out in ’17 and ’18, we still knew that we had the firepower and the belief amongst the playing group,” Rapana said.
“Look at ’16 to now, there’s only a few changes we’ve had in our squad.
“The majority, 90 per cent is still the same squad. We just needed to harness that belief and I think we’ve really done that this year.”