For Cronulla captain Paul Gallen there is no nervousness about Sunday’s grand final against Melbourne, just a sense that his Sharks team is finally where they want to be.
Gallen, who joined the club as a teenager in 1999, will tick off one of his greatest career ambitions when he leads his one and only club out onto the field for a decider in front of 80,000 people at ANZ Stadium.
The 35-year-old, who signed a one-year contract extension with the club last week, said a grand final appearance was no more than what Cronulla’s class of 2016 deserved.
“I just think we’re where we should be. And where we want to be,” he said.
“We’ve worked really hard in the pre-season. We had a goal to finish [in the] top four. And it turned into wanting to finish [in the] top two.
“Then we played the last game to win the minor premiership and were beaten there obviously but we’re just where we think we should be, to be honest.
“We’re where we deserve to be. We’ve done something, we’re in a grand final. But we want to win it. That’s what we’re here to do.”
Gallen said he had recovered well from a potentially serious back injury that saw him miss the qualifying final victory over Canberra and turned in another strong performance in the preliminary final win over the Cowboys.
But Gallen, a veteran of 278 NRL games with the Sharks, 32 matches for Australia and 24 State of Origin appearances, has a simple message for his teammates – cherish the opportunity.
“The only message I can give to these young boys like Val and Birdy is I signed with this club in ‘99 because they were minor premiers and involved in grand final qualifiers. When you’re 19 or 20-years-old and you get that you think it’s going to happen every year,” he said.
“We all know the history of the club and what’s happened to us the last 10 or 15 years and you don’t get too many chances at it.
“This is our chance now.”
