West Coast veteran Matt Priddis insists it was his decision to retire, saying he wasn’t pushed by the AFL club.

Priddis announced his retirement on Friday – less than two months after signing a one-year contract extension.

The 32-year-old wiil play out the season before hanging up his boots.

Fellow Brownlow medallist Sam Mitchell is also set to retire at the end of the year, although coach Adam Simpson wouldn’t confirm or deny it when asked on Friday.

Priddis will be remembered as one of the all-time greats at the Eagles.

But his dramatic drop in form during the second half of the season raised concerns about whether he could go on in 2018.

Priddis said it had been an emotional few days while he grappled with the prospect of retiring.

In the end, he knew he could no longer produce his lofty standards in the midfield.

And Priddis said he simply wasn’t fast enough to make the transition into the forward line.

“i’ve always known I’m an inside mid. And playing forward or going back was never going to get me into the AFL system,” Priddis said.

“I put my own hand up and say I probably can’t make enough of a contribution to the team in the forward line.

“The speed is probably one of the most important things up there.”

Priddis said his backflip after signing a contract extension earlier this year was the right call to make.

“We made the call in round two or three that we’d like to go on again,” Priddis said.

“But between now and then a lot of things have changed. I’m really comfortable with this decision.

“You always want to make sure you can play a role for the footy team.

“The one thing that was hurting me the most was I didn’t feel like I could do that for the footy side.

“I felt my standards were probably dropping, and there were guys who can probably do a bit better than me.

“You have to be honest with your appraisals of your game.”