Mannering announces retirement

Warriors forward and club games record holder Simon Mannering has announced his retirement from the NRL.

The 31-year-old made his debut for the Warriors in Round 16, 2005, and has played 293 NRL matches for the Kiwi side, with his 300th game set to come in Round 25 against the Raiders.

Only Stacey Jones, Manu Vatuvei and Ben Matulino have played over 200 games for the Warriors, with Mannering set to become the first Warrior and second ever Kiwi (behind Ruben Wiki) to reach the 300-game milestone.

Mannering spoke to warriors.kiwi about his decision to retire, and told the club's website now was just the right time.

“It has taken a while to reach this point but I’m now comfortable with the decision I’ve finally made,” Mannering said.

“It hasn’t been easy that’s for sure. There has been a lot to think about. I’ve really enjoyed this season and that was one of the factors that was playing on my mind.

“I’m really grateful to the Vodafone Warriors for giving me the time I needed. It’s a big call when you consider retirement, even more so having played my whole career for this great club.

“It’s not over yet, though. There are still a lot of games to be played and I want to do all I can to help the team and the coaching staff in our bid to finish this season as well as we possibly can.”

Warriors head coach Stephen Kearney spoke on Mannering's retirement, and said the outgoing star deserves every bit of attention that will come with the announcement.

“I’d love Simon to play on forever but sadly the time comes when players have to make the call to finish,” he said.