St George Illawarra skipper Ben Hornby has quit representative rugby league, hoping it will prolong his NRL career.

The 30-year-old has represented NSW in three State of Origin series as well as his country, and was a candidate to be the Blues' halfback this year.

Hornby said it was a tough decision to alert NSW officials this week he would be unavailable for selection.

But he believed it was the right one to ensure he could keep playing club football for several more seasons.

"It's mainly my body. I want to try and play enough NRL over the next couple of years and I'm not getting any younger," Hornby said.

"It's just taken a bit of a toll on my body. I've got a few dramas in my lower limbs."

Disappointed with his own performance in the Dragons' 17-4 loss to Melbourne on Friday, Hornby admitted he may not have even deserved a rep place on merit on his effort at Etihad Stadium.

"You wouldn't pick me on that performance would you?" Hornby said.

It was a somewhat harsh assessment - Hornby not Robinson Crusoe as the Storm's relentless defence bustled the previously unbeaten Dragons into second-half error.

The Dragons' completion rate was well down on their previous three victories, and the brief revival they threatened when a Jason Nightingale try reduced the deficit to 12-4 was snuffed out when they couldn't convert some promising field position into points.

"Every time we started going okay, we dropped the ball and if you give Melbourne enough opportunities, they'll score points," Hornby said.

"We got back into the game and came up with errors again.

"We were frustrated we were making errors we haven't been making."

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