YESTERDAY'S play-off final was the last game in the professional career of York City Knights prop Richard Wilson.

The 29-year-old had already decided to hang up his boots but was hoping to finish with a triumph.

"It's my last game for the club and from a personal point of view it's not the way I wanted to go out," he said. "That's life. It happens. You've got to carry on.

"I've no intentions at this moment in time of carrying on playing whatsoever, and I don't foresee that changing.

"I'm looking to do something else outside rugby league. If you play at professional level it dominates your life and I don't want it to dominate my life any longer."

He added: "The guys are totally down. There are kids in the changing room in tears. But it's happened now.

"Unfortunately we could not kill the game off and we were punished for that and our mistakes.

"The game was in the bag with six minutes to go but we did not have the composure to see the game out."

Former Hull KR player Wilson, who has been a virtual ever-present since joining in April, said he did not expect Halifax's controversial try to be given by the video referee but reckoned it changed the complexion of the game as it lifted Fax to go on and win it with two late tries.

"I did not actually see it," he said. "I was not looking at the screen but the way their players were reacting to it, lining up to play the ball, I assumed it was not going to be a try.

"It's lifted them. It's been the catalyst for them to lift their game and for us to capitulate."

Updated: 09:56 Monday, October 11, 2004