The Wests Tigers have sent their captain Brett Hodgson out of the NRL a winner after a comprehensive 28-12 victory over the Gold Coast Titans at Skilled Park.

Hodgson, who heads to the UK next season, was his typically courageous self in his farewell match, taking several big hits, making try-saving tackles, sideline conversions and always scheming in attack.

His man-of-the-match performance drew praise from longtime coach Tim Sheens and even former team mate and Titans skipper Scott Prince.

"He's just an outstanding footballer," said Prince, who revealed the two had engaged in some mid-week text sledging.

"He texted me through the week and told me to test him early but after he caught a few bombs I left him alone in the second half.

"He's lot like Presto (Titans fullback Preston Campbell).

"He's only a small bloke but he's inspirational."

Sheens said Hodgson's recovery from a heavy hit early in the match summed up the fullback's tenacity.

"The knees in the back incident where he got straight back up is indicative of the kind of person he is," he said.

"He always gets up. He leads from the front and the players love to play with him."

Hodgson hinted at a possible return to the NRL after his two-year deal at Huddersfield expires.

"Never say never," the 30-year-old said.

The match, which had no bearing on the makeup of the finals, was as good as over after half an hour, by which time the Tigers had raced to an 18-0 lead.

Benji Marshall played one of his best matches of the season as the Tigers snuffed out any thought of a second-half comeback by the home side, racing to a 28-6 lead on the hour.

The win sees the Tigers finish the season in 10th place while the Titans end in 13th spot, having led the competition after 10 rounds.

Sheens said it was important for the Tigers to finish the season off with a win after yet another late-season capitulation which has become all too common since their fairytale 2005 premiership.

"We needed to win for Brett, we needed to win for the supporters and we needed something positive to take in to the off-season," Sheens said.

"The whole season was disappointing, but it's all about having your key people fit.

"we're not using that as an excuse but take two of the three stars out of Melbourne and see what happens."

It was a similar story from Titans coach John Cartwright who could quickly pinpoint the moment his team's spectacular start to the season started to unravel.

"I think the third State of Origin was where it started," he said, in reference to the broken arm Prince suffered in that game.

"We let such a good start to the season go, but we used 34 players this year, and I hope we don't have to use that many next year."

The year may not be over for Australian World Cup hopefuls Prince and forward Anthony Laffranchi, while Tigers stars Marshall and Dene Halatau should be frontline players in the New Zealand side.

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