Veteran Bulldogs back-rower Frank Pritchard would've hated to see the club's large of crop of young talent depart Belmore, thus why he made the decision to head overseas with a year left on his contract to link up with Hull FC.

A selfless decision, Pritchard said signing a two-year deal to see out his career in the English Super League was for the betterment of the Bulldogs and his much-adored teammates.

"I've been speaking to the club throughout the year and the two parties came to an agreement in what we thought was best for both of us. It will allow them to free up the cap and look after the younger boys in the team as well so it's good," Pritchard said.

"I wouldn't like to see Moses Mbye play at another club. Same goes Josh Jackson and Dave Klemmer. They have a good bunch of young boys coming through here but it's unfortunate there's not enough money in the salary cap to keep them so if [me leaving] meant freeing up the cap to keep those guys then so be it."

"I've taken Moses under my wing a little bit, and he's starting to come out of his shell so much now, but he's a good young kid. He's been awesome for the club and they need to do everything they can to keep him."

At the very most, Pritchard has nine games left with the Bulldogs – that is of course if the Dogs can force their way into the grand final – and the Campbelltown City junior was hopeful of having one last big run in the NRL, mainly because England was the only option for the 31-year-old.

"I couldn't run amok against the Bulldogs, brother," Pritchard laughed. "I've grown to love it here. The fans and the club welcomed me with open arms and it's been awesome.

"England was the best option for me to go over there to play and travel but I still have a couple more games so I'm just going to go hard.

"We have a tough one this week so it's just one step at a time but yeah, unfortunately it's coming to an end but every good run does. It'll mean the world [to have one last big run]. Everyone wants to win a premiership so I'll try everything I can to get there."

Missing last weekend's game against the Roosters with a rib injury suffered the week before, Pritchard allayed fears he would be out long-term by revealing he'd use needles to numb the pain for the remainder of the season.

"I thought they were broken but scans showed they weren't, just a small fracture so I managed to get out of the woods there," he said. "I would've been devastated, very devastated [if I was ruled out for the year] but a couple of little needles will fix it up."

This article first appeared on NRL.com

