Wigan Warriors captain Liam Farrell says he is not sure if he will play for the club again after he announced he will retireat the end of the 2026 Super League season.
The 36-year-old, who has only ever played for the Warriors, will call time on a career which has spanned 17 professional seasons. Farrell has captained Wigan since 2023 and been capped 12 times by England.
He has totalled 428 appearances for Wigan and scored 151 tries, winning six Super League titles, five Challenge Cups and two World Club Challenge successes during his illustrious career.
Farrell has not featured since June with an ongoing neck issue and with just three potential matches remaining in the season for his club, the chances of him featuring again for his boyhood club are in doubt.
That third match, if Wigan were to make it, would be the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford on October 3, live on Sky Sports.
Of course, it would be a dream for Farrell to lead his team out once again at the Theatre of Dreams, but he remains aware that not every career concludes with a fairy-tale ending.
“It is one of them – who knows,” Farrell told Sky Sports’ The Bench podcast.
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Wigan Warriors lift the Super League trophy after their win over Hull KR in the Grand Final at Old Trafford.
“I have still got to see the specialist again and see what he recommends and there will be a decision made in the near future.
“That is all I have got for now. Careers don’t always end how you want them to end.
“Don’t get me wrong, I would love it to end that way, but I’ll wait and see what the next few weeks bring.
“Regardless of how it does end up, I have done more than I ever wanted to achieve and I would be happy whichever way it goes.
“I am at peace with that. It would have been nice to maybe just play one more game but like I said, things don’t always finish the way you want them to.
“We will just wait and see what the decision is in the next few weeks.”
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Highlights of the Super League Grand Final match between Wigan Warriors and Hull KR.
While time will tell on whether we will see Farrell in a Wigan jersey one more time, he remains adamant that pulling on the cherry and white just once would have been enough.
“I have lived a lot of my dreams. I think one thing I said to the lads over there: my goal was always one game for Wigan. If I’d have come off the bench, played once, I’d have been happy and retired there,” he added.
“But to have had the career I have had and the success I have had. The teams I have been involved in, the trophies I have won, I have been unbelievably lucky. It is a dream come true for myself.”
Joining the ‘performance side’ of things
While this season marks the end of Farrell’s involvement at Wigan as a player, he will now move over to the performance setup, a job he has been working towards in the background for a number of years.
“I got all my qualifications for that a few years ago,” Farrell said. “So, that has just been in the back pocket for when the time came of retiring. It is something I’m excited about.
“It is something I want to get into and slowly build into it as well.”
The regular Super League season concludes with Round 27 from Thursday September 10 live on Sky Sports.
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