The 35-year-old has hung up the boots after more than a decade at the top level and he's already got his next move sorted - it's time to watch his three daughters grow up.

Lima played nine games for the Raiders since arriving in Canberra last year and played his final match for Mounties in the New South Wales Cup semi-finals on Sunday.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart intially reached out to the veteran front-rower to complement the Green Machine's emerging props, and Lima laughs it was time to go once he "felt like a father of the boys".

"That's it, just going to hang up the boots and get ready for the real world," Lima said.

"It's a bit sad in a way that it's finished, but it's all done now and I'm looking forward to a new chapter in my life with my family and kids.

"It's about time to help the wife out and do the manly jobs around the home."

Lima has already started working at PCYC to try to change the lives of troubled youths and break the cycle of domestic violence, drugs and alcohol.

The former New Zealand and Samoan international says he wanted to make a difference because things weren't too different when he was growing up.

"I see myself as similar to those kids. Some of those have come from domestic violence families, drugs and alcohol and all that stuff," Lima said.

"I see a change in their eyes when they come into the programs and they hook into the programs.

"But when they go back home, that's when the reality starts. You see a change in them, they know they can change, and that's the cycle we've got to break."

Lima played 98 games and won two grand finals with the Melbourne Storm, but both premierships were stripped when the club was found to have been rorting the salary cap.

Lima was squeezed out of Melbourne when the Storm shed players in a bid to get back under the cap. He says while the NRL can take away the premierships, they can't take away the memories.

"It doesn't bother me a bit to be honest," Lima said.

"I know we did the hard work and we worked hard for each other. They can strip it away but the memories are there for the rest of your life."

He moved to England to take up a deal with Wigan in the Super League and won the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match in the 2011 Challenge Cup final.

But it's not the grand final wins or the man of the match efforts at a packed out Wembley Stadium that stand out for Lima.

It's the "camaraderie of mates, training together, going through the tough times and the good times" that he'll miss most about lacing up the boots every week.

While his professional days are over, Lima hasn't ruled out a stint in the Canberra Raiders Cup if the right offer comes around.