No tears from Gallen as last home game approaches

Paul Gallen doesn't anticipate any tears or sleepless nights this week in the build-up to his last home game next Sunday after 19 years as a Shark.

More than 170 of his 344 games have been played at PointsBet Stadium since his 2001 debut off the bench.

Already the Sharks marketing team have started a #ThanksGal campaign for the 2pm kick-off against the Raiders to draw a full house.

And so they should as 38-year-old Gallen has lost litres of sweat and shed plenty of blood for the black-white-and-blue. He was having stitches inserted into his right eyebrow before being interviewed after the game on Saturday.

"No tears beforehand … honestly, I'm just worried about the result," Gallen told NRL.com.

"People have been asking me if I'll get emotional and it hasn't been that way yet really, although the Warriors were really nice to me today."

After the full-time whistle in the healthy 42-16 over the Warriors, the players brought the Sharks skipper into their circle, linked arms, thanked him and wished him well.

"They congratulated me and thanked me. I thought that was pretty cool," Gallen said.

"I just want to win next week and make the semi-finals. To not make the semis, not so much because it's my last year, but because of the roster we have would be a failure I think. There'd be no hiding away from that.

"That's what I want to do – just get to the semis because it’s a whole new competition. So from this week all I want is the result, to beat Canberra."

While there will be no tears, there also won't be any more bets with his good mate, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart. When Stuart was coaching the Eels in 2013 he dared Gallen to walk down The Kingsway nude if Parramatta upset the Sharks, which they did.

Gallen wore a G-string and walked down Cronulla's main street.

"Definitely no secret bets this time. Will we still be friends afterwards? I'll let you know once we know the result," Gallen said with a laugh.

"Ricky knows me well and I know him well … it'll be a great afternoon.

"But it's not just my last game. It's the last game for the team here for two years," Gallen said, referring to the neighbouring Sharks Leagues Club renovations, which will force the ground's closure during the rebuild.

"People are forgetting that. It's a big occasion as we lose all this [pointing to the dressing sheds] and this ground for a long time.

"So I hope we get a big crowd to not only farewell me but to show support for the club itself as they continue to expand.

"When we return here it won't be the same."

The walls in the Sharks rooms are adorned with photos of former and current greats, including a fair few images of Gallen.

"I'm hoping there's one of me at the new place," he said.