http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/n...rl-club-for-life/story-e6frfgbo-1225839336792
Paul Gallen signs new deal with Cronulla Sharks that will keep him at NRL club for life
Shark for life...Paul Gallen. Picture: Mark Evans
Source: The Daily Telegraph
PAUL Gallen is part of a new trend in rugby league that has been missing from the NRL for too long.
It's called loyalty.
When the Cronulla enforcer sat down for contract talks this week with Sharks CEO Richard Fisk and his agent David Riolo, he kept thinking about the personal pride of being a one-club football player.
"I spoke to a Sharks legend about it - Andrew Ettingshausen," Gallen said. "He was like me in that he had other options but never left.
"And then you read in the paper over the last couple of weeks about Anthony Watmough and Benji Marshall committing themselves to Manly and the Tigers for life.
"It's not a bad thing for our game to play at one club. It's probably been a little bit under-rated in recent times, but it's changing now."
Remarkably, if you'd asked the Kangaroo and Origin forward eight weeks ago about his chances of being a Shark for life, he'd have angrily rejected it.
The Tigers and the Sea Eagles were both sounding him out, knowing of his disappointment at being fined $5000 by the Sharks when police caught him urinating in a city street after a boozy Christmas party.
"I could have got out at the end of this season," he said.
"Before Christmas I was a bit disappointed, but I've moved on from all that now. I like what the new board is doing.
"I didn't agree with the fine they gave me but I think their intentions were in the right place. They want the footy team to succeed and the club to succeed.
"We don't want to be known as the poor little brother any more."
Gallen also revealed how coach Ricky Stuart played an important role in him committing for another four seasons.
"I think most people know how much I respect the coach," he said, "And Ricky was also big on the loyalty side of things.
"There have been rumours about Ricky leaving, but I'm not worried about that because I know how dedicated he is to the bunch of players we have here at the moment.
"He kept saying it's a huge thing to play your career at one club. He told me how disappointed he was he couldn't do it in Canberra.
"At the end, you can walk in to your club and your picture will be on the wall. You can do that final lap of the oval with your kids. It's not worth any money, but it's special and it's something I'll always remember."
After 10 years at the club and another four coming up after signing the new contract yesterday, the inspirational forward would love nothing more than to deliver the Sharks' first premiership.
"Of course I've thought about that," he said. "That's the ultimate goal for every player at every club.
"But you can't just pick a team and say you'll win a premiership.
"I'll just concentrate on my footy each week and see what we can achieve. We've got some good young players coming through in Snowden, Douglas, Tupou, young Ferguson and Stapleton and Kelly ... and then there's Trent Barrett.
"We've got to build a team around these blokes and maybe sign another one or two players in the future and then give the premiership a real crack. That's the aim.
"The club's moving forward and I always wanted to get the contract negotiations out of the way before the start of the season. I can just worry about playing footy now.
"I'll be 31 when this deal finishes.
"I don't know if I'll go on after that. I can confidently say I'll never play for another NRL club.
"If I'm going to win a premiership, it will be in a Cronulla jersey."
There would be no prouder man, particularly if he was first on stage to accept the Provan-Summons trophy as the club's skipper - the job he lost last year when found to have racially abused Dragons forward Mickey Paea. One day he'd like to get it back.
Coach Ricky Stuart recently asked 30 players to vote for a leadership group for the season. The players couldn't vote for themselves and Gallen got 29 votes.
"I think that best tells the story of how highly he is regarded at this club," Fisk said.
"And this time he wanted all the get-out clauses removed that were in his last deal."
Gallen says: "If I'm called on to take the captaincy again I'd take it on for sure, but it's not at the forefront of my mind.
"Captaincy is a lot different to what it used to be with the image part. It's not just being a leader on the field. If they want to give it back to me at any time, I'd never shirk the responsibility that comes with it."
Stuart says Gallen's signing has given the club a tremendous boost on the eve of the season kick-off.
"Paul Gallen is the heart and soul of our club," he said. "You build your club around men like him. It gives me and the players a great lift before our first game knowing he'll be here for life and he'll be remembered as a Cronulla legend."
