KEY POINTS:
The oldest man in the NRL isn't making any decisions about retirement just yet. Jason Smith, 35 in March, will wait until rounds 10-12 to see how his body is holding up - then take the advice of good friends in the game before deciding whether to go
around again in 2008.
He has a one-season contract at North Queensland, as he had at Canberra when he joined the Raiders in 2005. That extended to two years. Maybe there'll be two in Townsville as well, if the club wants him.
"It's been a pretty long journey," Smith says of a professional league career that began when he was signed from Brisbane Souths to the Bulldogs at 18.
"I've had 18 years of the game. It's all I know. It's been a great time but I am looking forward to enjoying something else in life," he said.
Many pundits thought his NRL career was done when he went to Super League club Hull in 2001, at 29. And Smith proved he was far from his use-by date as he steered the Raiders around.
His great enjoyment in the NRL now is helping the younger players find their way in the game. "I believe the older players made a difference at Canberra and that's what I want to do here. The most satisfying thing will be sitting back in a few years and watching them come on and being able to say, 'I played with that guy'."
He mentions Raiders' Alan Tongue and Todd Carney and the Cowboys' Johnathan Thurston in particular.
There was the possibility that Smith's arrival would throw the rapidly-improving Thurston off his game. That hasn't happened.
The pair talk about and share the responsibilities in the halves. "He is the Australian halfback," Smith said, indicating he let Thurston make the game calls. "I've spoken to him about it and said, 'You do what you want to do and I'll try and help out.' There's no conflict."
Smith feels the Cowboys have the team to make - and win - the grand final.
It's one reason he's in Townsville. When his Raiders contract expired last season, he told his manager he felt he was good for another and to put his name around the clubs. "I was surprised at the interest I got."
Queensland was first choice because it's close to his wider family who remain in Brisbane. And he has a 20-hectare property in northern New South Wales, where the family is building a home. "That's where we're going to stay for good," he said, pleased to be able to settle down with wife Janelle and their boys Jasper, 5, Bud, 2, and daughter Dahria, 3.
Right now his focus is on confronting a Warriors pack that includes former Bulldog Steve Price, 33, and former Raider Ruben Wiki, 34 - the Warriors' props the second-and fourth-oldest players in the NRL this season, with Manly's Steve Menzies at No 3.
And when round 10 comes along? "By then you're getting a few knocks, it's getting harder. I'll see how I go."