Wests Tigers veteran Robbie Farah remains undecided on his NRL future having changed his mind several times over the past few months.
After bursting out of the blocks and firing Michael Maguire’s Tigers to a strong start to the season, there were plenty touting the former NSW and Australian hooker still had a lot to offer and should go on in 2020.
But the 35-year-old admitted there were times when he thought age was catching up with him, such as when they lost successive games to Melbourne, South Sydney and Canberra.
Maguire has always stated that the decision was in Farah’s hands if he wanted to go around again.
Speaking in Lebanon camp ahead of Sunday’s Test against Fiji at Leichhardt Oval, he didn’t rule out playing on but stressed he didn’t know what the future held.
“It’s hard. I’m at the stage where you wake up after a win on the weekend and you think ‘it’d be good to go again’,” Farah said.
“But then you lose three weeks in a row like we did recently and I think I’m done.
“I really haven’t made my mind up. I’ll consult with family, I think they want to see me retire, they’ve had enough of the ups and downs that come with a footy career.
“It’s not something we’ve discussed with the club or that Madge has discussed with me. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes.”
Farah has burgeoning interests outside of football including his sports hospitality company Two4Seven.
After 17 years in first-grade and 295 NRL games, and with his 300-game milestone on the horizon next month, he says he’s in no hurry to make a decision.
While clubs like to know well in advance if their senior players are retiring, partly so they can plan to give them fitting send-offs, he said that wasn’t factoring into his thinking.
The Tigers’ final home game of the year, against Cronulla, will be played at Leichhardt Oval and shapes as a perfect chance to farewell Farah and Benji Marshall should they choose to retire this year.
But Farah said he had no need for sentiment having received a send-off when he left the Tigers in 2016, only to return a year-and-a-half later.
“I’ve had a farewell, I’ve had a return, I’ve had all those things,” Farah said.
“I’m not too worried about all the sentimental stuff that comes with it. I haven’t put a time frame on it. When I know, I know.”