Adrian Lam says Thomas Leuluai will not rush into a decision on his playing future, but the coach believes he should carry on.
The 35-year-old New Zealander made his 300th appearance for the club against Huddersfield on Friday night, which have been spread over two spells with the Warriors.
He is out of contract at the end of the season, and it will the halfback’s decision over whether he continues playing in 2021.
Lam said: “Tommy’s a year-to-year proposition.
“It’s in his own hands. He has a relationship with the club where that can be left to the last minute.
“It will unfold in him, but there’s nothing in me that thinks it’s time for him to call it a day.
“Tommy Leuluai being at Wigan makes it a lot easier for us to be successful.”
Leuluai joined the Warriors from Harlequins RL in 2007 and made 189 appearances in his first spell before heading back to his original club New Zealand Warriors for three years.
He returned to Wigan in 2017 and Lam has outlined the influence that Leuluai has on his team.
He said: “Tommy is respected very highly here, he’s in our leadership group, I go to him for a lot of feedback and even selecting players.
“What he’s brought to this club, as a player and a person, he has led the way certainly when we’ve got all these young ones coming through.
“He sets the platform for others to follow.
“He knows he’s getting a bit older; he’s got a year to go and with the way he leads them and his voice at crucial times, he pulls them together.
“He leads with his voice, but also his actions – I thought last weekend was his best game in my time here.”
Lam also referenced Leuluai’s notoriously tough tackling technique.
He added: “He’s not the tallest of players although he has a bit of broadness, but the way he does it is very difficult because it’s all about the timing.
“Honestly, we show footage of him during the season on the opposition and the boys are laughing at the way he cuts opponents in half.
“They know themselves not to run at him and how aggressive he is.”
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