"You can't write a better way to exit this level of footy."
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After 14 seasons, four premierships and a competition-record 234 games, Launceston's Jay Blackberry has retired from the Tasmanian State League.
Debuting with South Launceston when the league returned in 2009, the 30-year-old played in the 2013 flag before having two years at Western Storm and finishing his career with seven seasons at Launceston - winning the premiership in the final three.
"It's probably been a few weeks in the making," Blackberry said about his top-flight retirement, which finished on a high note with the grand final victory almost a fortnight ago.
"I'm not getting any younger and at the end of the match when the siren went, I just knew in my mind that it was the right time to make the call and I'm very content with that.
"Obviously team success is what we're all striving for and the last three years have been perfect for us and obviously 2013 before that (for me)."
The mechanic admitted he'll "still have a kick next year" at a lower level but wants to have a break and celebrate premiership success with teammates at Launceston's McAuley Medal before his future is unveiled.
Blackberry had only told several people close to him about his decision before catching up with coach and three-time premiership teammate Mitch Thorp earlier this week.
"He sent me a message earlier in the day before we caught up and he probably had a little bit of an idea leading into it but he was very supportive of it all," Blackberry said.
"A large part of the journey has been with him, so he was excellent about it and he couldn't thank me enough and I couldn't thank him enough for the time we'd played and he'd coached together."
Blackberry then told his Blues teammates on Tuesday.
"They've been great, I couldn't thank them enough," he said.
"There's been a few of them like Jobi [Harper] that have been there for a very long time and obviously someone like Leakey [James Leake] that's only been there for a year.
"I wish them all the best and I'll still be supporting them all regardless of what they decide to do. Hopefully, they all stick together and they can take the four-peat because I'll be there to celebrate with them."
Breaking the league's game record last year, which was previously held by Glenorchy's Jaye Bowden at 212, Blackberry also won Launceston's 2021 best and fairest.
Named in the Blues' best players for round one this year, he looked set for a strong season, before a round-five collision with teammate Michael Musicka left him with a broken jaw - the second major injury of his career after an ACL tear in 2018.
"It probably wasn't as hard with the not playing side of things but obviously the eating and easing back into that kind of stuff and the physical side of things again was a little bit difficult," he said.
"It was a good time to be able to spend some time on the sidelines and help the younger guys develop and help our team get to a point where we got our game into a good spot and we were pretty confident going forward into the back half of the season because obviously that's when it counted most."
Despite plenty of personal accolades across the journey, Blackberry's mind immediately went to the four premierships when asked about his career highlights.
He also played "five or six" games for Tasmania as well as being in a dominant under-18s Tassie Mariners side featuring AFL draftees Brodie Mihocek, Jimmy Webster, Andrew Phillips, Josh Green and Sam Darley.
Having spent much of their football careers aligned, Thorp was glowing in his praise of his retiring mate.
"Jay has been the perfect role model over his career - consistent, hard working, humble and a great teammate above all else," Thorp said.
"He has been a key pillar in our success with an elite football IQ and competition-leading left foot. It's bittersweet, however - he couldn't have given any more and won't be a stranger to our group."
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