Tallis has taken his mum's
advice.

Brisbane's Raging Bull Gorden Tallis has always taken his mum's advice.

He may have have forged a feared reputation on the playing field but when it came to matters of the heart, and especially his mum, Judy, he was always a a softie.

When some NSW fans tried to put him off his game in a State of Origin match in 2002 by waving a derogatory placard about his mum, a fuming Tallis almost jumped the fence and took matters into his own hands.

Tallis revealed on Tuesday that it was a private moment with his mum - his number one fan - that had impacted the most on his decision to quit.

He faced the media without any tears, just an acceptance that at 31, his wife Christine and young son Ethan were now his number one priorities.

Judy Tallis would have been happy had her son given rugby league away after undergoing spinal surgery in 2001 - an operation which ultimately extended his playing career another three seasons.

But when he was dumped on his head in a tackle by Dragons players Lance Thompson and Mark Gasnier in May this year her fears for her son's health and welfare were again rekindled.

"I remember I was sitting with mum one day and she said to me, `when are you going to retire?'" said Tallis.

"I said, `I don't know, probably next year I guess,' and she said, `I don't enjoy watching you play any more.'

"She had tears in her eyes, and it hurt me.

"These are the people you love the most and you never want to hurt them.

"I guess that made the decision, even though it was a hard one, pretty easy in the end."

When Tallis started the pre-season, after announcing his retirement from all representative football, he had more than an inkling it would be his finale.

But as the season wore on he felt his football was so good he changed his mind and tossed his retirement plans out the window.

That was until that tackle against the Dragons.

"When I started pre-season this was going to be my last season, without a doubt," he said.

"But after 12 games I was playing again and I was going to play for as long as the body would hold up.

"After 25 rounds, I knew it was time to call it quits."

Tallis, who started playing in Townsville when he was eight, carved out a turbulent career packed with controversy.

But in typical Tallis style he made no apologies today for playing the game hard and tough and for occasionally overstepping the boundaries.

Tallis, who captained both Queensland and Australia, once called the game's number one referee Bill "Hollywood" Harrigan a "cheat".

He sat out an entire season in 1996, refusing to play for St George on principle after he felt they reneged on an agreement to release him from the final year of his contract.

And there was his much publicised pounding of Penrith forward Ben Ross in the opening game of 2003 which grabbed headlines and painted him in a poor light.

"I play a game which some people say is a gladiator sport, and it is, it's very rough and tumble," said Tallis.

"You've got grown men running around with all that testosterone and some days you overstep the mark.

"You're never proud of those things but they do happen in the game.

"I'm not embarrassed about them although sometimes you wish they weren't on national television."

Tallis said holding up the premiership trophy in Sydney would be the perfect ending and the highlight of his career.

But after playing 157 of his 211 first grade games for Brisbane, he didn't expect any "win it for the Gipper" effort from his teammates.

"I don't want to turn this into `let's do it for Gordie' because these blokes here are going to do it for themselves," he said.

Tallis, the most popular player at the club since Allan Langer, will be remembered in many different ways for many different reasons.

He doesn't really care how he's remembered, just as long as he is.

"I don't care how they remember me, you just like to be remembered," he said.

"Whether it's as a player or a character, or a big ugly bloke, whatever they're going to remember you for.

"If you're remembered, you've got to be pretty happy."