NRL: Battered Warriors veteran fires up for 10th season

Jerome Ropati. File photo / Wayne Drought

He's the longest-serving Warrior, but going into his 10th NRL campaign Jerome Ropati still believes he has plenty to prove.

Having missed all but three games of last season after rupturing an ACL, Ropati's long journey back from a knee reconstruction ends on Sunday against Manly at Eden Park. His journey into an unknown future is just beginning.

At 27, the 130-NRL game, 11-test veteran still has some good years ahead of him. The question is whether they will be played at the only club he has known. With fellow veteran Micheal Luck, Ropati comes off contract at the end of this season. As the team's top centre - a position where the club has struggled for depth - Ropati would seem a lock for a contract extension.

But an injury history that includes abdominal muscle troubles and a freakish shoulder infection that rubbed out the climax of the 2010 season somewhat change the equation.

Chief executive Wayne Scurrah has indicated the club is adopting a wait-and-see approach, and Ropati concedes that staying on the field hasn't been a strength recently.

"I'm known for having freakish injuries," he said.

He has no issues with the club wanting to see he how handles his return from injury - it's exactly the approach he is adopting. Mentally he feels he is just entering his prime.

He reads the game better than ever, and can control his emotions. But he simply doesn't know how his body is going to stand up to the rigours of another NRL campaign.

"I am at the stage where I know my strengths and my weaknesses and have good knowledge of the game," he said.

"I know where I want to improve, and the level I want to get to. If those are the signs of becoming a prime player then, yeah, you could say that - as long as my body will let me do it. I'm aware of the limits of my body.

"Physically and mentally I am now 100 per cent. It is not going to be the knee that it has been for a little bit, but I can do everything, play everything and prepare myself just as I would for any other game."

As for a contract extension, Ropati insists it isn't a major focus.

"My attitude to contract negotiations or even just making the team is that I have to prove myself. The only thing I can do is play good footy.

"If I stay fit and stay on the field and play some quality football then the contract will take care of itself.

"Ideally I'd like to stay at the club but circumstances change, so we'll cross that bridge when we get there."