Star Sport
Chris Flannery wants to sign off his career in style
2:14pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012
SAINTS’ former Queensland State of Origin back rower Chris Flannery will hang up his boots at the end of the year and return to Australia.
The hard-working packman made the announcement on Tuesday – but has vowed to go home with a medal after losing four Grand Finals and missing the last one with injury.
Flannery will be taking nothing for granted though, playing as he does in Saints’ most competitive area playing wise.
The 31-year-old former Sydney Rooster said: “I am out of contract this year and I think this will be my last. I am going to go back to Australia at the end of the season so hopefully I can finish it off in the right fashion.
“I have been over here for about five years and have a couple of young kids now so it is time to go back.
“I just need a big year to finish it off with because I will be hanging my boots up. It is time to go back to the house at the beach, get a bit of surfing and get some sunshine.”
Flannery joined Saints in the middle of the 2007 season, and was part of the Challenge Cup winning team the following year.
However, that remains his only medal win with the club having seen them come off second best in Grand Finals and the following three Challenge Cup semi-finals.
Flannery missed the back end of the 2011 campaign with a knee injury – and having missed large chunks of the year was one of the senior players sent to play at Oldham in January’s pre-season warm-up.
The experience probably convinced him to head back to the sunshine of Australia.
He quipped: “I don’t know what I did to deserve that. It was a pretty rough night - the Whitebank pitch was more like a mud bath.
“The showers were a disgrace – but I managed to sneak into the referee’s room to get a wash because the ones in our changing room were terrible.”
But he has more pressing concerns tomorrow night – in the shape of the big units in the Catalan pack.
“It is going to be one of the toughest games of the year. You can’t take these guys lightly – they have a very big pack and they have quality guys like Scott Dureau, Leon Pryce, Thomas Bosc and Clint Greenshields. Their side is up there with the best.
“It is up to our six forwards to get in there and stop their pack giving them a platform.”
He knows full well what former Saints stand off Leon Pryce can do with the ball in hand.
“Leon had a lot of niggling injuries in his last year or so at Saints and did not get as fit as he would have liked so he is going to come here with a massive point to prove.
"We know that when he is at his best he can tear teams apart so we are going to have to keep an eye on him because he can be a real handful. It is up to us to stop him," Flannery said.