Roosters' swansong? Josh will wait before making retirement call

Josh Morris initially thought last season would be his NRL swansong, so the veteran Roosters centre isn't quite ready to declare he'll retire at the end of 2021.

Morris, who turns 35 in August, was in sublime form upon moving from Cronulla to play alongside his twin, Brett, after two rounds.

The game's increased speed after the introduction of the six-again rule lent itself to youngsters, but the brothers used their class and experience to thrive as the Tricolours reached week two of the finals.

Morris officially signed a one-year contract extension in November, and though it may seem unlikely he'll go around past this season, the 305-game former international won't rule anything out just yet.

"Similar to what I said last year, I'll probably make a decision halfway through the year," Morris told NRL.com leading into Saturday's round-one clash with Manly at the SCG.

"[It will be based] on how the body's feeling physically and mentally."

Morris, who scored 11 tries in 17 games in 2020, once thought his career would finish in the UK Super League, but he no longer has that desire.

Another stellar campaign from the former Blues and Kangaroos star may convince him to hold off on hanging up the boots, but Morris has already put plans into place for life after his playing days.

Along with Brett, he's in the last year of a Certificate III in Carpentry at Gymea TAFE and expects to be done by September or October.

"Potentially that could be the future ... There was a couple of us doing it. Jaeman Salmon is there with us," Morris said.

"Tyson Frizell was there but he's moved on to Newcastle now. Woodsy [Aaron Woods] and Scott Sorensen did it as well.

"To be fully qualified I've got to be on-site for a year, so once I retire that's probably the first step. But who knows when that will be."

Having a focus on family and study has been key to maintaining his on-field performance, Morris said.

"You work hard when you're at training, but you don't think about football all the time ... If you have that balance right, then you tend to play your best football," the former Kiama junior added.

While he didn't feature in the Roosters' only trial against Canberra due to the flu, Morris feels strong heading into the Telstra Premiership.

"[Pre-season has] been tough. They've pulled us [older players] out of things where they could, but we still had to get that volume in our legs and adapt to the rule changes as well," he said.