SIMON Grix can be an inspiration in a new performance role at Warrington Wolves next season, according to Tony Smith.

The 29-year-old has not featured since a fractured ankle against St Helens in September 2014 and will be released from his playing contract at the end of the season after 10 years with the club.

He will instead take on a performance role, working mainly on strength and conditioning alongside Jon Clarke and Ben Stirling.

“I’m delighted he’s going to be working with us,” said Wolves’ head of coaching and rugby. “He’s been a real inspiration. He’s been fantastic with the injured players we’ve had this year.

“He’s inspired them and kept some of them on track. When they’ve felt like feeling sorry for themselves and they see how hard Simon’s working and how hard he’s training, he’s a real inspiration.

“He’ll be mainly working with the strength and conditioning aspect, with injured players or rehab in terms of coming back from injury.

“He’s doing a lot of that with them now. We’ll see whether he’s recouped from injury enough to be in that group and train that group, or whether it’s injury prevention.

“He’s a real asset to our club. He speaks his mind and keeps people on track. He’s as thorough and professional as any player we’ve got and he wants to pass on that to the younger players.

“He’ll be a help to Ben Stirling and Jon Clarke and he’s another set of experienced hands to help train and condition some of our younger players coming through.”

Grix harbours ambitions of playing again, but Smith said that is likely to be away from the club.

“I’m sure he’ll be able to pick up a team that would love his services, we would too, but after being out for so much time he probably needs to play somewhere else before he plays for us again,” added Smith.

“We’re not shut on Simon and his future, but we’ve stuck with him this year and for Simon it was the right thing to do “We were hopeful he was able to get back. We can’t do that again next year and he understands that.

“For him to get back playing to the levels he wants to, he realises he needs to go and play at a different level to what we’re able to give him for next year.

“He’s waiting for a nerve to kick in; it’s not about making it stronger or rehabilitation. The nerve just needs to kick in and until then he can’t really perform or train to the levels he needs to.

“Hopefully that’ll happen sooner rather than later for him. Until then it’s just keeping his body in shape and he certainly does that to the best of his ability.”