Gallen: Don't blame me - Melbourne Herald Sun
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Gallen: Don't blame me
By David Riccio
July 06, 2008 12:00am
Fine line ... Paul Gallen has come under fire for his aggressive style of play. / The Sunday Telegraph
A PHONE call of support from Sharks team-mate Greg Bird has convinced Paul Gallen to resist changing the playing style that has left him besieged by critics.
Under pressure to reel in his aggressive and contentious playing style, Gallen has ridiculed suggestions his on-field antics cost NSW the State of Origin series, and also spoke of his passion to stay on as Cronulla captain.
Angry NSW supporters blamed Gallen's lack of discipline as a major factor behind the Blues' loss to Queensland on Wednesday night, after he gave away three crucial penalties.
His approach led Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart to admit there was pressure from within the club to stand Gallen down as captain.
But Gallen told The Sunday Telegraph that a conversation with close mate Bird on Friday morning had convinced him to maintain the attitude that continues to polarise the NRL.
"It's a big honour to captain the Sharks, I want to be the first captain to hopefully win a premiership at the club and hold the trophy up,'' Gallen said.
"Deep down I'd be hurting if they took it off me and I don't want them to do that.
"I had a really deep and meaningful conversation with Greg Bird about it on Friday morning.
"He said, 'we love playing under you, we don't want you to give it up. The whole team loves the way you play, we love who you are and what you're about.
"We're in this position (leading the competition) because you play with your heart and soul.
"I know Birdy was initially probably upset not to get the captaincy (at the start of the season), so for him to ring me meant a lot.''
Not one to read newspapers or watch the television news, Gallen said he was shocked to learn that he had been targeted as the reason for the Blues' heartbreaking series loss.
"The first I heard of it was when someone told me about it,'' Gallen said.
"Not any of the coaching staff or my team-mates mentioned the penalties after the game.
"I admit the one on Johnathan Thurston was costly, but things like that happen in the game.
"They've been saying that those three penalties cost us the game.
"But there's no way in the world that anyone can say that.
"I was out there busting my arse like the other 16 blokes out there. We tried our guts out.
"We were beaten by a bit of Johnathan Thurston individual brilliance, which is why he's rated the best player in the game. We still had opportunities to score, but they stopped us.
"We were one pass away from levelling the match.''
Describing it as "the worst loss of my career'', Gallen said the pain of it had remained with him over the past few days, claiming he was desperate to repay the faith shown by selectors by getting revenge in next year's series.
"It was the lowest feeling ever. I didn't know what to do after the game,'' Gallen said.
"I actually spoke to Bellyache (Craig Bellamy) after the game by myself and thanked him for the experience and said I hoped he stuck around next year.
"I don't if I will be, you don't take Origin for granted, but I want to be there, for sure.''
Gallen said that while the series defeat hit him hard, he was determined to lead Cronulla to their first finals series under Stuart.
"I got away for a few days to Newcastle to freshen up after the Origin because there's no way I can come back to Cronulla with any hint of negative attitude,'' Gallen said.
"I want to start afresh on Monday and continue the good work we've done at Cronulla and make our charge for the finals.''
