Ben Westwood determined Saturday’s Grand Final will not be his last game

It has been viewed as the perfect way to bow out a Warrington legend: by helping the club win their first championship for 63 years in Saturday’s Grand Final with Wigan.

But Ben Westwood has got no intention of this weekend’s clash with the Warriors at Old Trafford being his farewell appearance.

The 37-year-old, who has been at the heart of Warrington’s transformation from struggling Super League side to a major force in the competition since his arrival in 2002, is currently the oldest player plying his trade in the top-flight.

And he is intent on ensuring that record remains with him for at least another season in 2019. He said: “I’ve made a decision. I’m looking to go on for one more year at the moment but who knows. We’ve got to go through things step by step, and the first step on that process is pre-season. But hopefully I’ll get through it and we’ll see what happens.”

Westwood also insisted that he will know when the time is right to retire by listening to his body, and admits he doesn’t feel that moment has arrived yet.

“I feel okay, I do,” he said. “When I start making a fool of myself, I’ll know when that time comes.

“I don’t want to speak about what I’m doing too much – we’ll get this week out of the way, I’ll go lie on a beach somewhere, relax the muscles up and we’ll see how pre-season goes. If I can get through that, we’ll be alright.

“If I’m doing a job for the team, and people are happy with me doing what I’m doing, then great. As soon as I can see I’m not capable or there are players coming through that can be ahead of me, I’ll know. We’ve signed some good players, with the likes of Jason Clark coming in, so we’ll see where we are. I’m looking forward to pre-season and seeing where I am.

“I wouldn’t say I’m in agony getting out of bed in a morning, and while these last few weeks have been tougher than most, I generally feel pretty good. I played Thursday, did some recovery on Friday and went trampolining with my kids on Saturday!”