Flannery to retire

St Helens back rower, Chris Flannery has announced his decision to retire and return to Australia at the end of the season.

Flannery who turns 32 later in June, is out of contract at the end of the season and intends to return to his native country, Australia.

He joined Saints back in 2007 as a replacement for Jason Hooper and has since made 98 appearances for the club.

He said: “I think this will be my last year.”

“We’re going to go back to Australia after this. We’ve been over here for four and a half, nearly five years now. We’ve got a couple of young kids so it’s time to get back to Australia.

“Hopefully, I’ll have a big year this year and finish it off in the right fashion.”

“I think I’ll hang the boots up,” he said. “I’ll go back and get some of that sunshine, to the house on the beach and do a bit of surfing. I’m looking forward to it.”