The great integrity of Paul Gallen

“I’m me. I can’t put on airs. I’m not a phony. I know the way I am hurts me more times than it helps. But somehow it’s all tied up with my integrity, and my integrity is the last thing I’m going to let you take from me.” – Tony Dorsett, NFL Hall of Fame running back.

On August 14, Paul Gallen – the great warrior from the Shire and the oldest player in the NRL – will turn 37.

Since he debuted in Round 15, 2001 – 17 years ago – there have been few more divisive players in the game.

Sharks supporters adore him, as do many NSW Blues fans. However, Gallen is despised by far more.

Depending on who you ask, he is seen as anything from a thug, a bully, a cheat, and – of course – completely uncultured.

But, say what you will about Gallen, he is a man of great integrity.

When you look at his record of crimes and misdemeanours it isn’t hard to see why lots of people aren’t fond of him.

In 2003, he was sent off for a head-high tackle on Newcastle’s Sean Rudder. The following year he was suspended for two weeks after the judiciary found him guilty of instigating a fight with Wests Tigers’ John Skandalis.

In Game 3 of the 2007 State of Origin series, he hit Tonie Carroll high in a tackle and then proceeded to start a brawl, commenting afterwards that the fight was “good for the game”.

That same season he head-butted Roosters player Shane Shackleton, was reported for a head high tackle on Ben Creagh, and he got into a fight with his teammate Reece Williams.

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The following season, Gallen really stepped it up a notch. He was suspended for trying to rip the stitches out of Anthony Laffranchi’s head wound, was accused of grabbing Gold Coast player Josh Graham’s testicles, and he slapped the head of Josh Cordoba while the Eels prop was lying unconscious on the ground.

In 2009, he racially abused Mickey Paea and was also issued a with a criminal infringement notice for urinating in public, near the head of a drunken friend.

In 2013, he was vilified for his thumping of Nate Myles in Origin 1, an action that led to punching being banned in the NRL.

And, of course, in 2014 the Peptides scandal engulfed and nearly destroyed his beloved club.

So why on Earth, I hear you ask, do I think he has any integrity, and why do I want to celebrate it?

Firstly, Gallen is honest about who he is and what he thinks, and he has strong principles.

The problem for most people is that they don’t share his principles – or he doesn’t share theirs – and, as a result, they are indignant about him being honest and up front about what he stands for.

There are loads of examples that demonstrate his integrity.

In Game 1 of Origin 2013, you could see that Myles was playing the role of mongrel. He took smashed every New South Welshman he could and roughed them up constantly. A lot of it was sneaky stuff too, like facials and leg twists.

After one tackle, Gallen told referee Shayne Hayne that Myles was deliberately twisting his knee, trying to reinjure it. Hayne seemed to show little regard for the report.

So, at their next meeting, Gallen took matters into his own hands, clobbering Myles’ sizeable melon with three huge punches.

AAP Image/Action Photographics, Robb Cox

I’m still amazed that Myles stayed on his feet. What I wasn’t amazed about was that Myles’ enthusiasm for going hard at the Blues by any means necessary was distinctly curtailed after that point.

The subsequent hysteria saw Gallen’s actions soundly vilified and the beloved biff – an aspect still mythologised by the Channel Nine coverage – wiped out.

However, all Gallen had done was hold Myles to account for his actions, something the referees hadn’t bothered doing.

He backed up his words with action. That’s integrity in my book.

When the whole world was exploding about Todd Carney doing the ‘bubbler’ at Northies, there weren’t too many saying trying to defend him. In fact, most people were running the other way. However, Gallen came out and said we should leave Carney alone, because he wasn’t hurting anybody.

While Carney’s actions weren’t the best look for the NRL – and they certainly hurt the man himself – Gallen was right. Carney wasn’t drink driving, or assaulting anyone. He was just doing a party trick. It’s a safe bet that Gallen thought that the real crime was the taking and sharing of the photo.

You can be as disgusted as you want by Carney’s actions but that doesn’t mean Gal has to be. And he had the courage to stand up for his teammates no matter how unpopular it might be. That’s integrity.

AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

When covering the NRL you ask players and officials lots of questions to try and get a deeper insight into how they tick and their intentions. Mostly though, your questions get met with strings of media-safe clichés that have all the flavour of cardboard.

Not so with Gallen. He is a joy to interview, answering questions without fear. Why? Because he has the courage of his convictions. In other words, he has integrity.

I was extremely lucky to be doing the sideline for ABC Grandstand at Canberra Stadium on July 18, 2015. It was Gallen’s 250th game and it was a cracker, with the Sharks winning by one in golden point.

Following the match, Gallen did a lap of the ground, meeting every Sharks fan he could at the fence. While he was doing it, I interviewed him for a good five minutes.

It remains one of my favourite moments as a broadcaster: witnessing the genuine bond between the player and his adoring fans.

One of the questions I asked him was whether he’d ever thought of going to another club. I assumed, especially given the occasion, he’d say something like, “No, never! I love the Sharkies and I love the Sharkies fans!”

Instead, he said something along the lines of, “Absolutely I did. There were a few times I genuinely considered other offers. It just worked out that I’ve always ended up staying with the Sharks – and I’m glad I have.”

AAP Image/Action Photographics, Brett Crockford

And that’s where you find the greatest integrity in Paul Gallen. Lots of people are now gleefully willing the Sharks to get five more losses so that Gallen can hold the record for the most amount of losses by a player – 161. However, whether he takes that record or not, those losses speak of his greatest integrity.

He has stuck by his Sharks in the darkest of times, when he could easily have gone elsewhere. The only reason he has lost so many games (he still has almost a 50 per cent win rate overall) is because he didn’t jump ship to a stronger team when Cronulla were struggling. He could have got great money and possibly won premierships elsewhere. That’s integrity.

Paul Gallen has no subtext or subterfuge to him, and he certainly has little time for political correctness. He’ll never try to convince you that his shit doesn’t stink. If you don’t like it, well, he doesn’t care. What you see is what you get. And what you get are no apologies, no hypocrisy and a bloke with a whole heap of integrity.

Don’t you forget it.