The outgoing Warrington captain Joel Monaghan has insisted no decision has been made on his location for 2016 but he will be staying in Super League. Monaghan will end a five-year association with the club after Thursday’s game at St Helens, with Wolves confirming last week he will be released from the final year of his contract.
The 33-year-old has scored 144 tries in as many games since joining from Canberra in 2011 and has been strongly linked with a move to Salford. Monaghan has yet to choose which Super League club he will opt for next season and has more than one offer on the table. “I’ve not chosen what’s going on next year yet,” he said. “I’ve got a few options and hopefully all will become clear in the next week but I’ll finish my career over here, that much I can say.
“Super League has been good to me and I’m happy to try a new challenge somewhere else in the division. There are a few options to consider out there, and my manager is dealing with it because it’s still not decided where I’m going to go. My only focus is this last game with Warrington, which is why it should be clearer next week.”
Monaghan holds no grudges with Warrington over the decision to release him from his deal early, saying he understands the club plan to rebuild after the failure to make the semi-finals. “With the year we’ve had the club are building for next year, and this year has proven we need more players and more depth,” he said.
“Being on the wrong side of 30 doesn’t help, and people approached me about moving, and if it helps this club succeed then I’m happy to do the right thing for everyone.
“I could have sulked about it but I saw it as an opportunity to enjoy the last few weeks here and I certainly think I’ve done that. Everything happens for a reason, it’s time for a change and we’ll see what happens. I’ve only known a few weeks and I didn’t want to disrupt the team, so I thought if we could announce it the week before the last home game there’d be less questions. It was always planned that way and it was done right.”
