Melbourne Storm great Ryan Hoffman announced he would retire at the end of the NRL season.

Hoffman, 34, has played 319 NRL games, including 259 for the Storm across three different spells.

A winner of the 2012 premiership with Melbourne, Hoffman will move into the club's football administration department from November.

"I've been lucky to have lived out my boyhood dream and make a career out of rugby league for 16 years," Hoffman said.

"I feel I have achieved everything I can in the game and while it was hard to say the words out loud for the first time, I'm very content with the decision. I haven't lost the love for the game, however I knew my time as a player was finished and I know this is the right decision.

"While the success I've enjoyed as part of the teams I've played in have been great moments, for me the real highlight of my career has been the people I've met and the lifelong friends I've made.

"I'm very thankful to Melbourne Storm for giving me my first chance at an NRL club and for allowing me to explore the rugby league world with my time at Wigan and the Warriors.

"I'm also grateful to Wigan and Warriors for the time I spent at those clubs, as they were very important parts of my career. I would like to especially thank [Storm CEO] Dave Donaghy, [football manager] Frank Ponissi and [coach] Craig Bellamy in allowing me to finish my career as a Melbourne Storm player.

"A very special thank you must go to my wife Melissa and my children Zach and Mia. Melissa has sacrificed a lot in her life to be a supportive and loving partner to me. For someone who is extremely intelligent and a driven person, for her to sacrifice her job to be with our children at home is something I can never repay her for."

In between his career beginning with the Storm in 2003 and ending this year, Hoffman played for the Wigan Warriors and New Zealand Warriors.

Hoffman also represented Australia six times and played 14 games for New South Wales.

Melbourne are third in the NRL table, four points behind leaders the St George Illawarra Dragons.