Paul Gallen has been making a right nuisance of himself in Cronulla in recent weeks.

Just ask local surfer Matt Mulder, who was stunned when he had a close encounter with the brute in the water two days ago.

"He swam straight at us, and then at the last second, turned and started thrashing around," Mr Mulder said.

"It definitely got the heart going. It was better than a coffee, put it that way."