St George Illawarra are holding out hope of retiring hero Ben Creagh pulling on the Red V one final time.
The 31-year-old will retire at season's end after succumbing to a chronic knee injury which has plagued his 2016 NRL campaign.
It was thought Creagh's 270-game career had come to an end after he this week announced he was hanging up the boots.
However asked on Friday if Creagh could take the field again before walking off into the sunset, coach Paul McGregor said: "I'd like to think so, he's certainly working towards playing.
"It's a tough one. He's got his full life after this year and the most important thing is life after footy."
Creagh has not played since injuring his knee in round three against South Sydney.
He was originally slated to return last month but a setback mid-year forced him to undergo a second round of surgery.
He is back running and building up strength in his knee but yet to do contact work with the rest of the squad.
McGregor ruled out the premiership-winning back-rower turning out against Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
While Creagh is still a longshot to take the field, his most likely send-off would be when the Dragons face last-placed Newcastle at UOW Jubilee Oval in the final round.
Creagh, who made 11 appearances for NSW and two for Australia, captained the joint-venture from 2013-15 and is three games short of Ben Hornby's record for most appearances for the club.
