With Brisbane skipper Darren Lockyer poised to equal his NRL appearance record on Saturday night, Manly great Steve Menzies has revealed the Sea Eagles turned down his request for another season with the club.

Menzies wanted one final NRL season with the Sea Eagles in 2009 despite being given the perfect send-off with Manly's 2008 premiership triumph.

It would have given him the opportunity to add to his 349 NRL games played, a record he shares with Canterbury great Terry Lamb.

Lockyer will join them on Saturday night when he runs out against the Warriors at Suncorp Stadium.

Menzies has been in sparkling form since heading to Super League, having linked with Les Catalans after two seasons with Bradford.

Despite turning 38 in December, the former Australian and NSW Origin representative is in tremendous form, and believes he still had more to offer the NRL when he was forced out by the Sea Eagles.

"I think you always do (have some regrets about leaving Manly). It's a natural reaction," Menzies said.

"Anyone who leaves a club thinks 'they're doing this and that, and I'm doing this, and what if this happened?' and I do sometimes think maybe I could still be playing NRL competing at this level.

"That's just the way it is, though. Manly were looking at other directions and they said there was nothing for me (at the club) and I'm pretty comfortable with that decision. That's the nature of the business.

"Players, if they wanted to stay, we'd all stay at the one club we love the whole time but it's not the way it works.

"I've seen bits and pieces of games and you do think it would be nice to be there, but I'm pretty thankful for the experiences I've had."

But Menzies accepts that asking for a better farewell than he received, and holding the record for most competition matches outright - on top of an already impressive career - would be bordering on greedy.

"You look back at the way I finished and the amazinggrand final, and scoring a try and winning the way we did. It's a pretty lucky way to finish, isn't it?" he said.

"I'm the last one to complain about how my career in the NRL has gone and then I get to come over here and I'm living in France and it's so beautiful.

"I think I'm getting a bit greedy if I ask for a bit more than what I've had."

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