“We had a few chats here and there. At times [I was close to making myself available].

“There are still a lot of great players, a lot of young, fresh kids. I feel like I’ve done my time, and I’m only getting older – these kids coming through are getting fitter and stronger and bigger and faster. Throw them in there and give them a go. Madge understands.”

Wighton will celebrate 250 NRL games at Magic Round when Souths face fellow strugglers North Queensland.

As for the latest racism row involving his good friends and teammates Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker, fellow Indigenous man Wighton could only shake his head.

“It’s sad we’re having these conversations again, really, and I don’t know if it [racism] will ever go away,” Wighton said.

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“It’s close together from the last [incident]. It’s not acceptable. That’s the key message.

“With everything going on in life, it’s the last thing we should read about to talk about. People are still doing it in 2024.”

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