SAINTS prop Mose Masoe says he is returning home to play in the NRL purely for family reasons – and had it not been for that he would be stopping here.

The Samoan World Cup star, who is in his second year at Langtree Park, has agreed to join St George-Illawarra at the end of the season.

But the man mountain, dubbed the Smiling Assassin, said it was the pull of family and his need to be able to see his seven-year-old son more regularly was the main factor behind his decision.

Masoe, who has become a popular character among the Saints faithful, said: “I am going home for family reasons. I have a son back home to a previous partner. I want to be there and be a dad.

“We tried to get him over last year but after a year of getting it to court his visa got declined.

“Mike Rush and the club helped me out and we went to court to try and get him over here, but that’s the law.

“After that I told Rushie I would be looking to go home.

“He is seven now and needs a father figure to be a dad and put him in the right way or I might lose him in some ways.

"I am going to miss the club, they have been good and supportive to me and it is a tough decision to leave. You can always get another job but you can’t get another family.”

Masoe has had a tendency to pick his games – but fortunately for Saints he has had no problems getting up for the big ones.

His first tackle on Wigan’s Dom Crosby in last year’s Grand Final laid down an early marker.

And in subsequent big games against the Warriors he has made his physical presence felt.

It was arguably Masoe’s second stint against Vikings in the recent cup clash that helped turn the game around and pull them through.

He has had a remarkable run at Saints, playing 52 consecutive games since he delayed debut at the start of last term.

He is more determined than most to sign off with a flourish.

“All Kez wants me to do now is finish off with a bang and that s how I want to leave the club.

“We have got Leeds again in a semi final and hopefully we can learn from our previous meetings and give them a match we deserve,” he said.

“I was disappointed last week. You can’t give Leeds an 18 point start – if we can get the start we should go ok.

“In the first five minutes both sides knocked on three times each.

“Leeds made the most of our mistakes and we did what we could do to stuff it up. Leeds came with a game and played some good footy.

“I was disappointed with my own performance – we had a chance to put ourselves first on the table but cracked under pressure. We could not do that in front of our fans who travelled to Leeds.”

Huddersfield will pose a challenge across the park - a big pack, shrewd halves and a set of outside backs that can cause real problems.

“We have to come up with the goods with a game that means much to the Super 8s. We have to win as many as we can to get a better draw and more home games.

“We have to think about this week against Huddersfield and start well.

“We owe our fans who travelled all the way to Leeds to see us dish up that kind of performance, it wasn’t acceptable for St Helens standards.

“ I need to rectify the things I did wrong at Leeds and have been working on it in training this week,” he said.