Senior reaches 500 landmark

Senior: Set to make 500th appearance

If you'd have said to me as a spotty 17-year-old I'd play 500 games and keep on going having achieved everything I have in the game, I'd have laughed in your face

Keith Senior
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Leeds Rhinos centre Keith Senior is set to make his landmark 500th professional appearance on Saturday.

The 33-year-old veteran will be the first player in the Super League era to have notched up a quintuple century of appearance when his side faces Hull at the KC Stadium - and he is showing no signs of stopping there.

Wigan legend Jim Sullivan holds the overall appearances record with a huge 928, but Senior is the most experienced player still going, with St Helens hooker Keiron Cunningham following with 486 matches under his belt.

Career

The powerful three-quarter has scored an impressive 229 tries in his 499 games so far, picking up three Super League titles, and is still enjoying every minute of it.

"If you'd have said to me as a spotty 17-year-old I'd play 500 games and keep on going having achieved everything I have in the game, I'd have laughed in your face," he said.

"I'm still enjoying my rugby and still feel like I am performing at the highest level. Retirement is something I'll have to cross when I come to it but at this moment in time I am looking forward to the rest of the season and definitely next year as well.

"Something I have been proud of throughout my career is that I have put my boots on and given 100 per cent. At the older end we have a laugh and a giggle when you can see someone is looking a bit sore, but they are the times when you've got to dig deep and motivate yourself to get through the training."

The evergreen Senior has been an ever-present in the Rhinos side in the last decade, and has played an integral part in their success.

He originally played rugby union for Huddersfield YMCA as a junior but changed codes at the age of 18 after being snapped up by the Sheffield Eagles - the Rhinos spotted obvious potential in Senior and splashed out £180,000 for the player in 1999.

Ambition

While he has retired from international rugby after playing 33 matches for Great Britain, the Headingley star hasn't ruled out a move back to union when his contract ends in 2010.

"You've always got to keep your options open and it is all about challenges," he added.

"If the opportunity comes I'll definitely consider it and it is not something I could definitely say no to."

But his first objective is to guide Leeds to a third successive Grand Final win in October.

"It's getting to that point now where we've got to start doing it a bit more consistently," he said. "We've still got a lot of work to do."