{"id":678676,"date":"2026-07-07T14:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T14:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/678676\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T14:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T14:56:11","slug":"st-helens-veteran-alex-walmsley-drops-huge-hint-over-future-as-retirement-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/678676\/","title":{"rendered":"St Helens veteran Alex Walmsley drops huge hint over future as retirement looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

St Helens prop Alex Walmsley believes that the 2027 season will be his last, after revealing his plans for when he could retire from the game.<\/p>\n

Walmsley made his debut for St Helens back in 2013, aged 22, after joining the club from Championship side Batley Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

Since then, he has gone on to make close to 300 Super League appearances for the Red Vee, and will continue to add to that tally for the next 18 months after signing a new contract earlier this season to keep him at the club until the end of 2027.<\/p>\n

However, the England international has revealed that the recent extension could be the last one of his illustrious career. Walmsley will be approaching 38 by the time that deal is up, so could well call time on his playing journey.<\/p>\n

Speaking on\u00a0The Bench\u00a0podcast this week, the Saints man was asked about his career and his plans for the future, to which he dropped a big hint.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI think that [last contract extension] is going to be the last one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I feel, I\u2019m enjoying playing. I\u2019ve always made that decision of, if I\u2019m enjoying it, I\u2019ll keep going. But I\u2019m also now getting to that age where I\u2019ve got to think about the next 20, 30 years as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my head, it\u2019s going to be the last one, but if Simone [Walmsley\u2019s wife] keeps wanting extensions and things like that, then I might have to keep going!<\/p>\n

\u201cShe always says that she wants me to retire, but deep down, I think she\u2019ll roll me out in a wheelchair as long as I\u2019m still going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magic Weekend fallout, Leeds Rhinos\u2019 latest signing, Super League\u2019s game of the season \u2013 Click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show<\/a><\/p>\n

Alex Walmsley provides future update as St Helens man ponders retirement<\/p>\n

Walmsley also revealed that, had he been asked two or three years ago if he\u2019d still be playing in 2026 and 2027, he\u2019d have said he would be retired by this point, but a new love for the game has emerged, and that is what is driving him to keep going for a little while longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a roller coaster, this career, there\u2019s highs and lows, and I think, at the time, we as a club were struggling. It\u2019s easier when you\u2019re winning to enjoy it, but I\u2019d had a few injuries, and my body was probably not doing what I was used to it being able to do, and what I expected from myself.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026I\u2019m really enjoying it. It\u2019s changed, and it\u2019s different. I\u2019m still enjoying representing St Helens. It\u2019s something that I don\u2019t take for granted. As long as I\u2019ve got a smile on my face, and I feel well enough, the body\u2019s in good nick, I\u2019ll just keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walmsley revealed that he has returned to university to do a masters degree in business, so he has already started taking steps towards his next career after rugby league.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St Helens prop Alex Walmsley believes that the 2027 season will be his last, after revealing his plans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-678676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}