Veteran Melbourne forward Russell Robertson will play his final match for the club against St Kilda in Round 22, but is refusing to concede that his career is over.

Robertson told a media conference in the club's boardroom at the MCG on Thursday morning that he received a tap on the shoulder several weeks ago and had since come to terms that his career in the red and the blue had reached its use-by date.

He said it would be a "fairytale" to be able to play his entire career at one club, before adding, "but, I'm not for fairytales."

"My time at Melbourne is finished and the Melbourne Football Club has to move on," Robertson said.

"We have to rebuild as a club and find some young kids and unfortunately that means that old fellas have to tip off the other end and I'm one of those."

"It was put to me that you are in our best 22 but we need to do what's right for the football club and I had to move on."

"That was kind of hard to hear, but it's also nice to hear that you're still considered a very good footballer and good enough to be running around in the AFL."

Robertson said he was undecided about nominating for the draft but is convinced he still has something to offer at AFL level.

He described himself as 'strong like a bull' and said he still had some good run left in his legs now that he's recovered from a serious Achilles injury that delayed his start to 2009.

At the moment, Robinson sits alongside former club champion Garry Lyon on 226 matches for the Demons and his career goal tally also compares favourably with Lyon's - 422 to 426.

They're stats the 30-year-old is justifiably proud of.

"The numbers are correct - I'm up there with Garry Lyon ... an absolute champion of this club," said Robertson.

"To be the size that I am, not a full-forward ... I wasn't the centre-half forward, just a half-forward flanker who caused a bit of grief every now and then."

"To kick as many goals as I have, it makes me feel pretty good to be up there with Norm (Smith), Garry and 'Neita'.

Robertson is the fourth high-profile veteran to announce his resignation in the past three days after Essendon's Scott Lucas and Sydney pair Leo Barry and Jared Crouch.

Last week Robertson's Demons team-mates Matthew Whelan and Paul Wheatley announced that they would be stepping down at the end of the season, bringing to an end their 10-year careers at the club.