Steve Menzies is set to become the oldest player in the Super League when he lines up for the Catalan Dragons against Wigan this weekend — but he insists there is plenty of life in the old dog yet.
The former Australian international, who won a grand final with Manly in his last NRL appearance in 2008, has been a mainstay of the Dragons’ impressive start to the season.
French club Catalan sit third on the table with 11 wins from 15 games, although they welcome Wigan fresh off the back of a 34-30 defeat by Salford that coach Trent Robinson described as “disgusting”.
However this Saturday is set to be a fine occasion as, barring injury, Menzies – at just over 38-and-a-half-years-old – will overtake Brad Davis as Super League’s oldest player.
To mark it with a win, the Dragons will have to end table-toppers Wigan’s 11-game unbeaten streak but Menzies is relishing the challenge and loving every minute of top-level rugby league.
“I knew that the record was coming up this season, but I didn’t know it was this exact weekend,” said Menzies, the second highest try-scorer in NRL history.
“It’s obviously a very nice record to have, even though it’s one for being very old,” the forward added.
“I am proud that I can still compete at this level. I am enjoying it. If I wasn’t, then I wouldn’t want to keep doing it.
“I am still loving training and the playing and my body feels really good. If I am happy with the level I am playing at, and I can keep competing at that level, then I probably will continue.
“My biggest fear is playing too long and people looking at me and saying ‘Look at him, he used to be good. Look at him now, what’s he doing?’ But if I can still compete, I’ll be happy.”
Meanwhile, former Canterbury fullback Luke Patten has warned his Salford teammates their defence must improve if they are to extend their own unbeaten run to four matches.
The Reds have beaten Catalan and Huddersfield in successive outings and head into Sunday’s clash with Castleford aiming to stay in sight of a playoff place.
“We shouldn’t be letting as many points in as we are and it is definitely something we’ll talk about,” said Patten, a member of the Bulldogs’ 2004 NRL grand final-winning team.
“We’re the sort of team that need to take our chances and get confidence from that. That’s what happened towards the end of the Catalan game.
“All year, we’ve been a team that have been in games and have just needed a bit of luck to go our way. The Castleford game is huge for us.”
Elsewhere, Huddersfield’s Australian coach Nathan Brown is desperate for his side to end their four-game losing streak against Hull KR on Monday.
Less than a month ago, the Giants were top of the Super League table but they have come unstuck in recent weeks.
“We just don’t have the game sense at the moment to understand how to build into a game and adapt to situations,” said a concerned Brown.
On Friday, St Helens face financially-ailing Bradford while second-placed Warrington are up against champions Leeds.