AFTER 256 AFL games, Fremantle veteran Luke McPharlin has hung up the boots.
The 33-year-old All Australian told teammates this morning he would not go on in season 2016.
“At the end of last year I considered (retiring) pretty strongly,” he said.
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READ NOW“There was always a scenario in the back of my mind that this would be my last season.
“Ultimately it’s time to hang up the boots and move onto other things.
“When you get to my age and my time in the game, there are a lot of factors that need to be considered.”
The signs one of Fremantle’s greatest ever players was close to pulling the pin were there shortly after the Dockers’ preliminary final loss to Hawthorn on Friday night, when a visibly emotional McPharlin and wife Kalinz strolled across the same ground where he plied his trade.
McPharlin said he had exceeded expectations by managing his battle-weary body through 18 games this season, but did not think he could endure another preseason.
“The will and desire to climb the mountain is too much for me,” he said.
“If you know that’s the case, it’s probably time to step away.”
McPharlin docked at Fremantle in 2001 after two seasons with Hawthorn, who took him at pick 10 in the 1999 National Draft.
McPharlin sits second on Fremantle’s games record list after representing the club 244 times.