St Helens captain Jon Wilkin will continue his illustrious rugby league career next season.
The 33-year-old, who has been at Saints nearly 16 years and won every domestic honour available, made 1072 tackles this season – the second most of any player in Super League.
Despite losing last Thursday’s semi-final against Castleford, Wilkin and his Saints’ teammates have finished the season in good form.
And talking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s podcast, the ex-Hull KR man revealed that he will extend his career beyond this season.
“We had a chat today,” said Wilkin. “I went into the club and had a series of meetings about what the future holds, and yes we are going to keep going together.
“St Helens have been a huge part of my professional life, but that been said everyone has their time, everything has a start and an end and you want to choose the right moment to do that.
“The club are keen for me to keep going and at this point I think that’s what I will do.”
Speaking about their dramatic defeat to the Tigers last week, Wilkin couldn’t hide his disappointment but credited Daryl Powell’s side.
“We were 28 seconds away from getting to the Grand Final and as captain of a club with a proud Super League history like St Helens it was crushing really,” he said.
“Even as an experienced rugby player I think you accept with 28 seconds left that you will get there. But Cas got what they deserved, they have been exceptional all year.”
