From the moment Long made public his desire for a two-year contract extension last week it seemed clear he would have to take his services elsewhere. Saints were never likely to capitulate and offer a deal which would keep him on their books until after his 35th birthday.

Long signed for Saints in 1997 as a replacement for Bobbie Goulding and quickly established a rapport with the Knowsley Road crowd. Together with Keiron Cunningham and Paul Sculthorpe he formed a 'Holy Trinity' around which Saints incredible success over the following decade would be based.

Despite his relatively small stature (5ft 9in tall and weighing 13st 5Ib) Long is a fearless competitor and was once memorably and somewhat bizarrely described by ex-coach Ian Millward as "one tough rooster".
There was no doubting Long playing talent, either. In 2000 he won the Man of Steel and has been unlucky in many fans' minds not to win the coveted prize again.

He has won the Lance Todd trophy as the stand-out player in the Challenge Cup final three times, and scored his 1000th goal for St Helens earlier this season.

Along with his flamboyance on the field, Long attracted attention away from the pitch, sometimes for the wrong reasons. He posed nude for a womens magazine early in his Saints career, a decision for which he was mercilessly ribbed by teammates and fans alike.

Worse was to come in April 2004 when it emerged Long and teammate Martin Gleeson had bet on Saints to lose against Bradford Bulls knowing then coach Ian Millward planned to field a weakening side. Both players admitted their guilt and were banned for three and four months, respectively.

Two years later, Long again hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when he left the Great Britain Tri-Nations squad touring Australia early citing "personal reasons".

Although the GB international management sought to play down the debacle, it soon emerged Long had been drinking on the plane travelling back from New Zealand to Australia.

However, those incidents will only cast a minor shadow over what has been a magnificent playing career with Saints. He has played 294 times for the club, scoring 152 tries.

Retiring from the international set-up in 2007 has proved pivotal - allowing the impish scrum-half to prolong his playing days well into his 30s.

Long, never one to be backed into a corner, wasn't willing to accept chairman Eamonn McManus' offer of a 12-month contract. After going public with his desire for a two-year deal, Long stated leaving Saints for Super League club would "kill" him.

At the end of this season, with Hull FC now the proud new owners of Longy's signature, he'll have to make the gut-wrenchig move away from the club that has been his home for the past 12 years.