PERSISTENT groin troubles have forced Gold Coast midfielder Daniel Harris into retirement after 160 games.

Harris told his teammates on Monday and made the official announcement on Wednesday morning.

Harris, 29, made his debut for North Melbourne in 2001 and earned a reputation as a hardened in-and-under midfielder in his 149 games for the club.

He was delisted at the end of 2009, before the Suns selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2010 Rookie Draft.

Harris played 11 AFL games for the Suns and said after playing Geelong in round 20, the decision to retire was obvious.

"I think my body made the decision for me," an emotional Harris said.

"It was definitely time with where my body was at and with the kids coming through and they're developing really quickly so it was a pretty easy decision.

"I've been lucky to play with some great players and make some great friends over the journey. I'm really content.

"When I first came to the club Bluey (coach Guy McKenna) said, 'You are a custodian of the footy club, you will wear that jumper and one day you will hand it on'. I'll never forget that. It was an honour to wear the jumper and North Melbourne's."

Harris said he would "always remember" the Gold Coast Football Club, its hierarchy and coaching staff for giving him a chance to revitalise his career after being delisted.

But after a full season in the VFL last year and most of the AFL season this year, his body could not keep up.

"The game's changed a lot," he said.

"It's more of a running game now and if you can't keep up it exposes you pretty quickly, there's nowhere to hide. It's just so much more professional now and the boys coming into clubs now have been through systems and are ready to go."

Harris was selected by North Melbourne with the 14th pick of the 2000 National Draft and listed their former captain Wayne Carey as the greatest player he had played with.

He also paid tribute to Glenn Archer, Adam Simpson, Brent Harvey, Mick Martyn and Anthony Stevens from his Kangaroos days.

Harris said winning in Archer's 250th game after trailing by 40 points at three-quarter time against the Swans was one of his career highlights.

He said he would like to start his own landscaping business next year while playing lower level of footy somewhere.

McKenna also paid tribute to Harris.

"We couldn't have been happier with Harro's service to the footy club," he said.

"His decision to come up here after being delisted by the Kangaroos, to come up and take a step back and perform and show leadership, he delivered in spades and really has helped the culture of our football club grow."

Michael Whiting covers Gold Coast news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @mike_whiting