Paul Gallen will play his 300th NRL game for Cronulla this weekend, against the Brisbane Broncos; in doing so he will become only the 29th player in the fairly exclusive 300 club. Rugby league is such a tough sport, and the normal wear and tear that goes with a career at the very top prevents a lot of players from making it so far. For a forward who plays the game as consistently hard as Gallen does, his longevity is an even greater achievement.

Paul Gallen and Brett Kimmorley at the Sharks. Mark Nolan/Getty Images

Gallen has said he signed on with the Sharks inspired by the great Cronulla clubman Andrew Ettingshausen. Like Ettingshausen, Gallen set out to be a one-club player; next year, when he wraps up his career, he will not only have achieved that but he will also most likely have passed Ettingshausen (328 games) as Cronulla's most-capped player.

I signed with Cronulla in 2002, which was Gallen's second year at the club, and my memories are of one of the most competitive blokes I have ever met. He absolutely hated to lose at anything, even a social game of pool. He was always going hard at training, and putting in extra hours at the gym during his days off. He worked harder on his physical strength than the cardio side of things because his game was built around that explosiveness and the power of his running.

People talk about the way Billy Slater redefined the role of a fullback; well Gallen redefined the role of a lock forward. The lock was always the ball-handling extra five-eighth type who could tuck the ball under his arm and run at the edge of the ruck. Gallen turned the role into a third prop, a player who ran hard up the middle of the park and combined that power with the occasion offload. If you watch James Taumalolo play for the Cowboys now, you can see a lot of similarities in the way he plays lock.

There are two other forwards at the Sharks who are already in the 300 club, with Luke Lewis and Chris Heighington each having reached the magic mark this season. The secret to such a long career at the top is to obviously start very young, work hard to maintain your fitness and abilities, and also develop leadership skills along the way. It is so easy for clubs to cite salary cap concerns when ending a veteran player's career earlier than the player wanted, replacing him with the next crop of young guns. If that player has entrenched himself as a leader and shows the club he will play a vital role in developing the young players, then it becomes easier to keep him around.

Paul Gallen holds up the NRL premiership trophy. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Gallen has definitely proven himself to be a great leader at Cronulla. He will always be remembered as the first captain to lift the premiership trophy for the Sharks. He played at the highest level for NSW and Australia, and always gave his absolute all on the field, regardless of what jersey he was wearing. His career hasn't been without off-field bumps along the way, but his ability to battle through tough times and come out on top says a lot about the man and the footballer.

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When he runs out for his 300th game at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night, it won't surprise anyone if he is greeted with jeers rather than cheers. I think it is possibly the greatest wrap for Gallen's career that he is so despised north of the Tweed River. Most Queenslanders hate Gallen -- but his efforts for his state have driven that, and it is an acknowledgement of what a strong player he has been.

He'll ignore the boos, he'll put his head down and do what he has done for every one of the 299 NRL games that have gone before. He'll give his all for the Cronulla Sharks and win or lose, he won't have an ounce of energy left in the tank at the end.