During this week in 2017, Paul Gallen became only the second player in club history to play 300 first-grade games for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
The milestone aligned with a tough road trip to Brisbane, a location that had delivered plenty of heartache to Shark number 339 during his tenure as the NSW Origin captain. The Sharks had, however, won the past three matches played against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
Buoyed by the return of James Maloney from a broken hand, Cronulla met a Brisbane side sitting third on the premiership ladder, fresh off a 54-point thrashing of the Gold Coast Titans.
Cronulla, on the other hand, had been inconsistent in the defence of their maiden premiership but still possessed enough star power to suggest they could make a late run for a second title with a fit and firing squad in September.
In the week leading up to the milestone, Sharks coach Shane Flanagan secretly organised a dinner to mark the occasion with a host of Gallen's close family and friends in attendance.
On the morning of the game on August 11, the club flew Gallen's family from Sydney to be by his side for the momentous occasion. Ahead of kick off, Gal's match jersey was presented by his son Kody.
Cronulla were slow out of the blocks, Broncos backrower Matt Gillett crossing within five minutes of the start, and the hosts held a 14-6 lead when the teams went to the sheds at halftime.
It was all one-way traffic in the second 40, with the Broncos running out 31-10 winners.
Two-time premiership winner Maloney had a night to forget on his return from injury. The crafty number six made two errors, gave away three penalties and missed 10 tackles in a rare poor performance for the Sharks.
The loss, however, did little to take the gloss off the milestone reached by arguably the club's greatest-ever player. Even in his 17th season, the then-35-year old's statistics remained among the competition's elite, with the veteran sitting second in all run metres and first in hit-ups.
Years later, in his book 'Heart and Soul', Gallen wrote, "As a group we moved on from that loss, but without a doubt the memory I forever hold near whenever I reflect on my 300th game is Kody presenting my jumper to me – not the woeful performance we delivered."
A Parramatta junior, Gallen arrived at the club at the end of the 1999 season. Ironically, on June 3 2001, Gallen made his first-grade debut against his junior team at Toyota Park, with the match going the way of the blue and gold 36-6.
From 2002, the player they called 'G-Train' became a mainstay of the Cronulla Sharks pack. He was rewarded with his first representative jersey for City NSW in 2006 and followed this up with selection in the third State of Origin game the same year.
In 2007 and then again in 2010, arch-rivals the Manly Sea Eagles came knocking, offering a substantial amount of money to try and lure Gallen over the Harbour Bridge. But he knocked them back, driven by the ambition of being a one-club player and delivering Cronulla's first title.
Despite the Sharks' poor results during the late 2000s, Gallen remained a constant fixture in the state and national sides, claiming the prestigious Harry Sunderland Medal in 2010 and 2011 as the Australian Player of the Year as well as winning the Brad Fittler Medal for the Blues' Player of the Series in 2011.
On November 3 2011, at the annual Rugby League International Federation's (RLIF) Awards dinner, held at the Tower of London, Gallen was named Loose Forward of the Year.
In 2015, with Gallen in arguably career-best form and with the additions of Michael Ennis and Ben Barba, Cronulla were building a formidable playing roster. The following year, with the inclusion of match-winner James Maloney and the return of Chad Townsend, it was quickly becoming evident the Sharks were going to be in the mix at the pointy end of the season. After a 16-match unbeaten run through the middle of the campaign, diehard fans were starting to consider that, come October, a much-talked-about porch light may finally be extinguished.
As they say, the rest is history. On October 2 2016, Gallen uttered those beautiful words to a packed Accor Stadium: "To all you people back in the Shire, turn your porch lights off because we are coming home with the trophy."
In 2017, Gallan was named at lock in the club's Team of the Half Century.
Retiring in 2019, Gallen ended his career as the Sharks' most-capped player with 348 games. He currently sits sixth for most all-time premiership matches and third for most Origin games for the Blues behind Cronulla Immortal Andrew Ettingshausen and Brad Fittler.
FACT FILE - Paul Gallen
Born: 14 August 1981 in Sydney, NSW
Position: Primarily a lock, but also played front row, second row, hooker and five-eighth
Nickname: Gal
Playing height and weight: 180cm, 104kg
Years at club: 2001-2019
Player no: 339
Games for club: 348 in first grade
Debut: Sunday 3 June 2001, Round 15 against Parramatta at Toyota Park
Last game: Saturday 14 September 2019, elimination semi-final against Manly at Lottoland
Statistics for Cronulla: 63 tries, two goals and a field goal for 257 points in first grade as well as eight points in reserve grade and 20 in Jersey Flegg for a grand total of 285 points.
Representative football: 32 Test matches (29 wins, two losses, one draw, 12 points)
Games for NSW: 24 State of Origins for NSW (one try, one goal for six points) - captain in 16 games
City Origin: Two games (2006 and 2017), one goal
