Fremantle defender Luke McPharlin has announced his AFL retirement.

McPharlin has played 256 games since making his debut for Hawthorn in 2000, but the 33-year-old struggled with calf injuries in his past two years.

The Dockers crashed out of the 2014 finals series in straight sets while McPharlin was nursing a calf issue.

And the injury flared again later this year, with McPharlin missing the qualifying final win over Sydney, and the preliminary final loss to Hawthorn.

“At the end of last year I considered it (retiring) pretty strongly,” McPharlin said.

“There was always a scenario in the back of my mind that this would be my last season.

“Ultimately, it’s time to hang up the boots and move onto other things.

“When you get to my age and my time in the game, there are a lot of factors that need to be considered.

“That’s certainly my wife and family. The coach, strength and fitness staff and, of course, the way I feel about playing another year.”