Melbourne have pleaded for Storm legend Billy Slater not to retire, and have laid plans for the Queensland champion to get up for a remarkable 17th season at the Storm next year.
It's all approaching fast for Slater, who will make the decision on his NRL future after he leads out the Maroons in his 31st and final Origin match in Game Three this Wednesday night at Suncorp Stadium.
At this stage, Slater is leaning toward calling it a day on his storied career, but the Storm are refusing to give up on him after swatting away a Broncos poaching bid to retain super coach Craig Bellamy.
The Courier Mail can reveal the Storm hold the salary-cap space to keep Slater and will promptly table a 12-month extension if the stand-in Maroons skipper decides his 35-year-old body can keep up the pace.
"We're hoping he keeps his football boots on for a bit longer," Storm football operations chief Frank Ponissi told The Courier Mail.
โWe wonโt put pressure on Billy but thereโs no doubt he is playing well enough to keep going for another 12 months.
โWith players like Billy, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk, you give them the ultimate respect to decide whether they want to continue playing or not.
โHe has been phenomenal for our football club and he is as big as it gets for the NRL in an AFL city.
โBilly is also outstanding for our young blokes. We have a Plan A in place for Billy to play on and we have a Plan B if he doesnโt play on."
There is a perspective that Slater's decision to walk away from representative football after Origin III can assist him in lengthening his career for a further 12 months.
Slater, who will tie Wally Lewis with his 31st Origin game is also cautious of playing one season too many.
A NRL veteran of 300+ games, Slater hasn't completely ruled out playing on in the 2019 season, but has stated that he won't be influenced by Bellamy's decision to stay loyal to Melbourne.
โI will make a call sometime after Origin,โ Slater said.
โI probably wonโt wait until after the season like I did last year.
โWeโll see how we go. I always thought this would be my last year but I want to be certain. I donโt want to throw out a comment now (about retiring) that I might regret. At the moment, Iโm feeling good, my body feels pretty solid."
Maroons coach Kevin Walter challenged his men to not let Slater down in his final Origin contest.
โItโs a special moment for Billy captaining his state and the other 16 guys owe him a send-off that is just right,โ Walters added.
โI know you donโt always get what you want but for Billy to lead them out onto Suncorp is fantastic.โ
