Former Ireland captain Liam Finn announces plan to retire from rugby league

Liam Finn: I’ve had a great time throughout my career.

Former Ireland captain Liam Finn has announced he will retire from rugby league at the end of the season, bringing a 19-year professional career to a close.

The 37-year-old half-back, who played in Super League for Halifax, Castleford, and Wakefield, will hang up his boots after Dewsbury’s Championship match against Oldham on Sunday.

Finn, who is in his second spell with Dewsbury, was in Castleford’s Challenge Cup final team in 2014 and has also played for Featherstone, Widnes, and Newcastle Thunder.

Finn, who won 32 caps for Ireland and led them at the 2013 World Cup, said: “I feel as though I’m ready to finish now because this year has been the first time ever that I’ve lost a bit of the enjoyment you need to get the best out of yourself.

“The sacrifices that you make to be a pro or semi-pro player started to outweigh my desire and I just knew I couldn’t give it my all any more.

“I’ve had a great time throughout the course of my career and made some good friends and I appreciate all the opportunities I’ve been given through the sport of rugby league.”

Dewsbury coach Lee Greenwood said: “Liam has been a class act for a long time. To influence games in the way he has for such a long time speaks volumes of him as a player and as a person.

“He has been a credit to himself and his family throughout his long career and it is a pleasure for me to call him a good friend.”