Australian captain Darren Lockyer admits he is yet to make a final call on his representative future as he prepares to embark on his 16th NRL season with the Brisbane Broncos.
Speaking at a function to help launch the NRL season in Sydney on Wednesday, the 32-year-old confirmed he'll delay his decision for at least another month so he can properly assess the state of his game.
"My original plan was to get some football under my belt with the All Stars game and a couple of trial matches to get a gauge on where I'm at physically and mentally before I made a decision, but unfortunately I've only been able to get 40 minutes of football out," Lockyer said.
"The rules are that by Round 4 you have to let the league know what your intentions are and that's when I'll make my decision based on how I'm feeling after that first month of footy."
"Obviously I want to be in good shape and I also want to be playing well, so after the first four rounds I'll have a good idea of how those things are."
Lockyer has been a permanent fixture of the Kangaroos and Queensland line-ups for over a decade, playing a record 50 Tests and 30 State of Origin clashes for the Maroons.
He says he'll also consider the Broncos' early season form and the effect his absence would have on the club during the Origin period, when making his final decision.
"That's the other thing to consider is the Broncos," he said.
"Last year I missed about three or four games due to Origin and my form was a little bit down in that period so I guess that's one thing that'll way on my mind."
Fellow Origin and Test stalwart Petero Civoniceva is hopeful his former Broncos team-mate will play on, but concedes the time to step aside has almost come for both he and Lockyer.
"I've been so fortunate to play alongside him whether it's been in the Queensland jersey or the Australian jersey and I'd hate to put any pressure on him," Civoniceva, who confirmed he'll make himself available for rep duties in 2010, said.
"He doesn't owe us anything mate. It'd obviously be great for him to go one more year but at the end of the day it's his decision and he has to see how his body's coping, and I think we'll be happy whatever decision he makes."
"But we're getting close to a time when it's probably the right time to walk away from it."
"We're very lucky we've got some great young talent emerging in the Queensland ranks and probably we weren't in that position a few years ago. But we are now so it's probably the right time to walk away maybe after this series."