The Wests Tigers have announced that veteran Benji Marshall will depart the club at the end of the season.
Marshall spent the first 10 years of his NRL career at the Tigers from 2003 to 2013 and was a part of the inaugural 2005 premiership side.
He had stints at the St George Illawarra Dragons and Brisbane Broncos before re-joining the Tigers in 2018.
Marshall has played 320 first-grade games, including 253 for the Tigers.
The Tigers confirmed the 35-year old will farewell them at season's end in a statement on the club website.
"Benji Marshall has been an incredible servant of this club for close to two decades, and has had an invaluable impact in shaping who we are as Wests Tigers," Wests Tigers Chair Lee Hagipantelis said.
"Benji's importance over the years has been seen clearly on field, but as of equal significance for our club has been his presence off it. He is a player and a person that has inspired generations of rugby league fans and I have no doubt that he will go down as one of the greatest ever players to represent Wests Tigers.”
Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe added: "As a club, we were thrilled to welcome Benji back to Wests Tigers in 2018 and to see him return in a leadership role in this part of his career.
"Over the past two-and-a-half years, Benji has performed as we knew he would on field but the reality with our roster management is that he will not be with Wests Tigers next year.
“Decisions around our playing roster are incredibly difficult ones to make, and this decision is not made lightly with the absolute respect this club has for Benji Marshall.
"While difficult, however, it is a decision that has been made as part of our constant roster management responsibilities in order to ensure clarity and certainty for our organisation moving forward.
"Whatever Benji chooses to do in 2021 — whether that is playing football or not — will be up to him and I have no doubt he will be a success," Pascoe said. "He is a terrific player and person and will unequivocally have the full admiration and respect of this organisation in whatever he does next in life."
