But in the first sign that his illustrious career could be approaching full-time, Newcastle Knights officials have been talking to MacDougall’s manager about life after football.

The 35-year-old, who is the oldest player in the NRL, remains undecided about whether he wants to continue playing beyond the end of this season.

But if the former NSW and Test star does opt to hang up the boots, the Knights hope he can remain involved with the club in some capacity and have presented some options for him to consider.

Knights coach Rick Stone insisted yesterday that ‘‘we haven’t closed the door on any options at this point in time’’ and said there was no pressure on MacDougall to make a decision.

‘‘Me and Doogs have had some chats and I’ve left it a little bit open,’’ Stone said.

‘‘I haven’t closed the door on that [playing next year], because there’s a few issues around long-service payments and veteran-player allowances that we’re having a look at.

‘‘And first of all Doogs has to decide whether he’s going to play.

‘‘At this stage he’s still very much non-committal.’’

Uncertainty about MacDougall’s future has been a recurring theme since he returned to Newcastle from South Sydney in 2007.

When that two-year contract expired, the initial indications from then Knights coach Brian Smith were that MacDougall would not be retained.

But after months of negotiations, the club stalwart emerged with a new deal for not just one more season but two, leading Smith to label him ‘‘the Peter Pan of rugby league’’.

As the last member of Newcastle’s 1997 and 2001 premiership teams still playing in the NRL, the man they call ‘‘Mad Dog’’ prides himself on competing against centres more than a decade his junior.

But this year he has played in just eight games, having been sidelined early in the season by a broken thumb and last week with a niggling ankle injury.