Monday, 18 September 2017: A consistent season by Cronulla captain Paul Gallen, which saw him play every game in 2017, has helped him to earn the Sharks' player of the year award.
A typical workhorse season in which he didn't miss a match has helped earn Cronulla skipper Paul Gallen the club's player of the year award.
Embed from Getty ImagesGallen first came to the stage at Cronulla Leagues Club on Monday night to accept the Tommy Bishop award for being voted players' player of 2017.
He was then called back for the final award of the night, the Monty Porter player of the year.
The 36-year-old, who will go around for an 18th season next year, leads the NRL for most runs (484) and most hit-ups (432) and is second to North Queensland's Jason Taumalolo for metres, with 4,582.
He also registered 814 tackles, 57 tackle busts, and 53 off-loads for Cronulla.
Luke Lewis, Wade Graham and Ricky Leutele had also been nominated for the award.
It was a disappointing finish to 2017 for the fifth-placed Sharks and defending premiers, who lost to eighth-placed North Queensland in the first week of the finals.
The Sharks also lost their chairman Damien Keogh mid-season after he was charged with cocaine possession.
But there were positives: six of their under-20s side were named in the NRL's Holden Cup team of the year; five players were involved in the State of Origin series and; three players were included in the Australian squad for last May's Anzac Test against New Zealand.
