SAINTS skipper James Roby knows that Saturday will be the last time he will run out on home soil as his 20-season career in the top-flight begins to draw to a close.

But ever the consummate professional the 37-year-old will be treating the build-up to the play-off match against Warrington like a normal game.

He is respectful of the plaudits and praise that has come his way as the final hooter nears in one, two, or hopefully three matches - but his prime focus is getting a job done against Wolves.

Saints need to beat Warrington to qualify for the semi-final where they must play Catalans in Perpignan for the right to go to Old Trafford.

And that is all that is on Roby's mind ahead of Saturday's early afternoon kick off.

Roby said: "I understand that I'm nearly there, I'm approaching the end, but hopefully three more big efforts and then we can finish in the in the way that we all want to.

"I'm just approaching it from a very similar angle in terms of it being just another game.

"People keep asking me how I am feeling or if I am going to be sad to play my last home game and stuff like that, but the emotion has not really hit me yet.

"I'm  just focused and determined to go out there and do my job as usual from a game point of view.

"And then maybe afterwards it might sink in a bit more when I'm walking off for the final time.

"Then I’ll think ‘I'm never going to get to play on this pitch again or in front of these fans again’.

"So I don't want to think about it till the game is out of the way to be honest."

There has been plenty of fanfare this past two years when the former Blackbrook junior passed the 500 mark with Saints and also Super League appearances.

And then earlier this season he broke Kel Coslett's long-standing record.

Not one for fuss, Roby was respectful of those tributes - but as soon as they were celebrated he wanted to simply get his head down and steer the Saints ship. 

"Because I've had the 500-game mark and then I broke the appearance record with Super League and Saints there was a lot of fanfare, publicity and stories with people saying nice things about me on those occasions.

"But I was kind of thinking ‘I am very lucky, I've had my time in the spotlight – but just leave me alone now as I want to get on with the game.

"But I'm very grateful for all that. It's fantastic and I'll remember that for a long, long time."

Roby will be one of 11 Saints leaving the club this year, with some having much longer service than others.

He recognised Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook's contribution to Saints since 2011 in particular - and asked for that to be equally recognised.

"There's not just me leaving, there's Louie and other players who are leaving the club.

"And they have equally played a massive part, especially Louie who has been by my side for 13 years.

"It is fantastic what he's done for the club and I think sometimes because of the amount of games I played, he almost gets overlooked," Roby said.

We will broadcast the full interview with James Roby tomorrow on this site.