Fan favourite Frank Pritchard has brought down the curtain on his 15-year NRL career despite having a contract from Parramatta on the table for season 2018.
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After a 280-game career which included stints with Penrith, Canterbury, English Super League club Hull FC and one year with the Eels, the 34-year-old has elected to hang up the boots.
It's understood he informed the Eels that he felt it was the right time to step down and told the club they were better off offering a place in the squad to a younger player.
Speculation had grown on the Samoan international's future after failing to return to training on Wednesday when most of the focus was on Jarryd Hayne.
Pritchard played just eight games for the Eels last season, and only two after returning from fracturing his foot against the Warriors in April.
The announcement came the same day Jarryd Hayne said he had hired a US lawyer to defend his rape allegation in California.