Paul Gallen offers hand of support to Todd Carney: come to Cronulla and I will help you
By Trent Hile
FOX SPORTS
October 19, 2011 1:30PM
Cronulla skipper Paul Gallen has pitched an offer to troubled star Todd Carney come to Cronulla and I will help you.
Gallen’s message to the former Sydney Roosters five-eighth came on Wednesday as the Shire club inked their beloved captain to a four-year contract extension, all but ensuring he would remain a Shark for life.
Carney is expected to join Cronulla later this week on a deal heavily loaded with behavioural causes after being cut loose by the Roosters last month.
The Sharks skipper, no stranger to trouble himself, said he could help Carney realise the potential which saw him named the game’s best player in 2010.
"I'm keen to see him play in the NRL, he deserves to play [and] I'd love to see him here," Gallen said.
"If he came here I think I could help him a little bit.
"I think he's just got to understand now that this could be his last chance. It would be his third club... he's 24-25 now and he's probably got to understand that."
Gallen described treatment of Carney as a two-way street, admitting while he needed to "be a little bit smarter", the media and general public weren’t helping the star to avoid trouble.
"He's in another country at the moment and having a good time… I don't see what people get out of taking photos and sending them to the paper. He's not doing anything wrong," Gallen said.
"I feel sorry for him. I don't think it's right at all."
"He probably has to understand that he's going to be targeted… [but] it's also the general public and the media, I think they have to lay off him a bit."
While Gallen was happy to talk about Carney, coach Shane Flanagan remained tight-lipped on the potential move.
"This is about Paul Gallen today ... Gal went on a bit about Todd ... we won't be going any further on Todd, this is about Paul Gallen being a Shark for life," Flanagan said.