Harlequins' Henry Paul has said that he will decide mid-season whether or not to prolong his career for another year.
Kiwi hopes for another season - provided he can make it through 2008
Henry Paul has said that he will decide mid-season whether or not to prolong his remarkable career for another year.
The 34-year-old Harlequins stand-off, who has also played for Wigan, Bradford and Wakefield, is out of contract at the end of the current Super League season.
However, if Harlequins coach Brian McDermott's comment - made in the wake of their 24-6 win at Hull last Sunday - that he was "scared to death" of an imminent Paul retirement is anything to go by, then the former New Zealand international remains a wanted man.
And, Paul himself has now said that, providing he can stand up to the wear and tear of another Super League season, he would like to keep playing.
"If the body is good I'll go again," he said.
"If not, I want to go out as I've always done and play hard. That's how I'm thinking.
"Brian said some really nice things, but I'll wait until halfway through the season to decide if I want to go again or if I've had enough. At the moment I feel great."
Second spell
After a three-year stint in rugby union with Gloucester and England, Paul is currently playing his second spell in rugby league, and has a personal tally of close to 2,000 points.
He burst on the scene as a teenager in 1993 with Wakefield - Paul and his current outfit coming up against the Wildcats at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday.
Wakefield are looking to extend their unbeaten run against Harlequins to five matches - and Paul is expecting a difficult test.
"Wakefield are the same sort of club they were even when I was playing for them all those years ago," he said.
"They have a never-say-die attitude, a bit like us. People will write them off, but they will put in a performance to shock people.
"They did it last year, when they had the wood over us with a draw and a loss to them. They will be thinking it's two points for them and they have every right to, judged on last year's results."
Inconsistent
Both sides have made an inconsistent start to the season, with Harlequins' win again Hull following an opening home defeat by Wigan.
Meanwhile, Wakefield followed up their strong start against Bradford with a 44-8 loss to champions Leeds.
"They had a big loss against Leeds but a good win against Bradford, so obviously they've got a lot in them to play 'big'," Paul added.
"Their forwards pretty much lay the platform. They work really well as a group. That's probably the biggest thing that John Kear has brought in.
"Danny Brough has got a good kicking game - and they know, if they get to the end of their sets, Danny will kick them into good positions. They play percentage rugby, which is winning rugby.
"It's going to be an even game. We've just to play how we did last week, but doing that in Super League every week is not easy.
"Looking at the standard of Super League, every game is going to be hard."
