Mike Neville.
SATURDAY'S mayoral election will be a last-chance bid for the mayoral throne for some of the city's most prolific councillors.
Mayor Mike Neville has conceded it will "more than likely" be the final time he stands for council, while comeback candidate John Dal Broi was adamant this weekend's poll would be his last.
Cr Neville has been on council for 13 years, four as councillor-elected mayor and four as popularly-elected leader.
He will be 56 years old by 2016 and said, if elected to the top job on Saturday, he would be ready to hand the reins to a younger member of council by the end of the term.
"I believe when your time is up, your time is up," Cr Neville said.
"Another four years is a significant commitment and I can't, at this stage, commit beyond this coming term.
"One thing I'd like to focus on, if elected, is to nurture and encourage a new breed of leaders and hope they will grow and be able to lead the city in the future."
Cr Neville said he looked forward to seeing the completion of some of the projects he had worked on since his early days on council before he stepped aside.
Of the nine mayoral candidates, three had already decided they would seek a further term in 2016 and four could not confirm either way.
Cr Allan Bennett, who is contesting the mayoral election but not running as councillor, said his decision would depend on Saturday's result.
"I couldn't say that if I get the role this would be my last election," Cr Bennett said.
Both Cr Dino Zappacosta and Cr Simon Croce were confirmed starters for 2016.
"If I'm fortunate enough to be re-elected this term, there are some serious long-term projects I want to pursue," Cr Zappacosta said.
First-time candidate, 72-year-old Lance Perry, said he would run again if he was still "this side of the ground" and in good health.
Crs Bill Lancaster and Anne Napoli and new candidate Leon Thorpe had not put any thought into whether their names would appear on the 2016 ballot.