CRONULLA Sharks captain Paul Gallen has denied next week's Wednesday Origin decider will be his last appearance in the blue of NSW.
Gallen said he was "disappointed and upset" by comments made by Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan on a Sharks fan podcast last week that indicated the 33-year-old would not be available for representative football in 2016.
But Gallen moved to clarify his position on Sunday and told Fairfax Media he wanted to lead the Blues again next year despite Flanagan's wishes.
"They are his wishes, they are probably the club's wishes," Gallen said. "But at the end of the day it's my decision and it will be left up to me.
"It's not part of my contract negotiations, it's never been spoken about and to be honest it's not a big issue for me. It's not true."
Gallen, who is close to finalising a one-year deal to finish his NRL career with the Sharks, said his sole focus was on being fit for game three.
"I don't want this next week going into Origin camp being about 'this is going to be my last game'," Gallen said.
"It's not about me, it's about game three for State of Origin and us preparing to win that game. That's all I care about.
"My first focus is getting the ribs right. Then I'll worry about training and winning the game for NSW.
"The next Origin series is 12 months away. I'll worry about it then."
Gallen missed Cronulla's gutsy 24-18 win against North Queensland on Saturday night with a rib cartilage problem from Origin II.
Gallen had returned to the Sharks a week earlier after an eight-week lay-off because of a hip injury.
He has played seven of Cronulla's 14 games so far this season.
Cronulla came from 18-0 down after 26 minutes in Townsville to storm home with 24 unanswered points after half-time to end North Queensland's 11-game winning streak.
Sharks are in the top eight for the first time this season.
Cronulla Sharks 24 (Luke Lewis, Sam Tagataese, Andrew Fifita, Ricky Leutele tries. Michael Gordon four goals) d North Queensland Cowboys 18 (Jake Granville, Justin O’Neill, Antonio Winterstein tries, Ethan Lowe three goals).
Crowd at Townsville: 18,826. Leader man of the match: Michael Ennis. Sharks next three: Manly (away), St George Illawarra (home), Canberra (away).
