This Sunday’s elimination final could be South Sydney forward Glenn Stewart’s final match in the NRL after it was announced the legendary Manly forward had signed a contract with French club Catalans from 2016.

Coach Michael Maguire said he couldn’t knock back the offer.

“Glenn came to us with an opportunity recently for him to lengthen his career for both him and his family overseas and we have granted him the release as of the end of this season,” Maguire said.

“Glenn has done a fantastic job for us so far this year and his commitments to this Club are not yet over.

“We look forward to continuing our journey this year with Glenn as part of the team, and we will then wish him luck with his future endeavours once this season has come to a close.”

Stewart himself thanked the Rabbitohs.

“I’m grateful to the Club for allowing me to take this opportunity next year but that’s next year and we still have things we want to achieve this year,” Stewart said.

“I’ll be doing everything I can to help this team achieve those goals.”

Catalans CEO Christophe Jouffret commented on the Dragons’ website.

“The ambitions of a club can be measured by the quality of recruitment of players,” Jouffret said.

“Our earlier announcements of quality players shows our ambitions while today’s announcement of Glenn Stewart demonstrates our desire to build a strong and experienced squad to achieve our goals.

“Glenn Stewart will add quality to our squad. We are already looking forward the 2016 Super League season.”

It is believed Stewart has a one-year deal with the option to extend.