It's been a celebrated and extremely interesting ride for Sharks skipper Paul Gallen.
Spanning 326 top grade games for the Sharks, 32 Tests for Australia and 24 games for NSW, nobody can argue it has been an outstanding career.
He's lifted the Cronulla club's first Premiership trophy, along with the Origin shield as NSW captain, with Gallen for almost a decade an inspirational leader for both the Sharks and the Blues through the good times and bad.
But all good things do eventually come to an end and Gallen has indicated the 2019 season will be his last in the NRL.
Turning 37 last August, he has defied father time however as head coach Shane Flanagan has said repeatedly, don't rate a player on his birth certificate, judge him on his performances on game day, with the Sharks a better team with Gallen on the field.
Emphasising that influence, and while nobody will ever really know, the Sharks may well have got the better of the Storm and moved through to a second Grand Final appearance in three years, had Gallen not injured a shoulder during the 2018 Finals Series, forcing him to miss that preliminary final.
In 2019 Gallen will continue to compete as he always has, he will take the ball forward when the going gets tough and will motivate those around him, as he looks to make his 19th season in the NRL a winning one.
But all the serious stuff aside, just when you thought you knew everything about Paul Gallen, Sharks media went 'under the surface' in finding out a few fun facts about the skipper.
Check out his responses to our questions in a special instalment of the 'under the surface' series as we chat to the Sharks captain courageous.
