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So Paul Gallen has been called selfish by Phil Gould. Is it his fault though?
Anyone who has played Super Coach or any other fantasy type football will tell you that Gallen is a keeper. He does what no other player does. He plays 80 minutes in the middle of the park and tops the tackle count. When other hard-working players do a hit up each set he does two.
Now let’s think about that. He often does two hit ups in a set of six.
If you break it down, in a traditional rugby league set of six the fullback gets the ball off a kick and that is the first tackle. In a fairly predictable manner the next tackle is usually an outside back taking a hit up from dummy half before the forwards get back onside and hit up the next two tackles. That leaves one tackle for the backs to try something to break the defensive line before the kicker drives the ball into the corner or in-goal to try and get a repeat set.
Cronulla are no different to most teams in the predictable way that they play with the exception that they have Paul Gallen. His superhuman fitness levels get him back there for that first forward hit up more often than not. Another follows off the back of it but then there he is again putting his hand up to go again.
At a club with limited success they have repeatedly asked him to contribute more and he has as they became overly reliant on his great work rate. His work ethic is to be admired but the problem is that it leaves the backs without a single opportunity to test the opposition defence out wide.
A few years ago that wasn’t a problem. They had no bullets to fire. They would fight, wrestle and nag away at a game but they didn’t have the cattle to blow a team away out wide.
If you look at Paul Gallen’s career, he has rarely played in a successful team. He has always led from the front and often by necessity. He has almost single handedly dictated how Cronulla play over a long period of time.
He has rarely played with a dominant halfback and never with a super star running the game plan. He has been the man. He has put his hand up and driven his team up the field in the only way he knows, hard work.
The only problem is that now Cronulla have the weaponry around him. Young players like Jack Bird and Valentine Holmes are future superstars capable of making defences look silly. They want the ball but don’t get it because Gallen is there in the middle of the park doing his remarkable second hit up.
Would Andrew Johns have copped that? How about Allan Langer? Your kidding. Despite the great packs these legends played with they always got that ball when they wanted it.
It is interesting that both Cronulla and Wests Tigers have struggled with recent negotiations with their long-standing club legends. It seems at each club a new bus driver has arrived and it is time for Gallen and Robbie Farah to take a back seat. They no longer need to give directions. They just need to do their job and make sure the bus is in the right suburb to start with and the young fellas will take it from there.
Old habits are hard to break though. Robbie refused to change his and it didn’t end well. Gallen hasn’t yet but with James Maloney on his way from the Roosters I think he will be clearly told next year what his role is and isn’t. Flanagan has predictably supported his leader until now but it will be interesting to see how he handles the change.
Put simply, Cronulla don’t need a second hit up. They need to win.
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