Gallen happy to absorb every shot fired

Paul Gallen. Photo / Getty Images

Paul Gallen is not my kind of guy. He's brash, provocative and plays the game on the edge.

But, boy, he's got big shoulders on him and I take my hat off to him. He's the dartboard for the New South Wales State of Origin side and opposition players, fans and media are only too willing to send darts his way.

He takes it upon himself to take all the flak directed at the Blues and do all the talking to stir publicity. He's willing to do all the talking for his side to take the pressure off his team-mates.

He opens up a new side of Origin when everyone else says nice things. He calls Queenslanders grubs, even though he used to be one himself, and that's not something people normally say. How many captains have taken that sort of approach? Few, if any.

Media love it, because he provides great soundbites, but one of the things he does is back up his words. He doesn't go hiding. Gallen opens himself up to all sorts in a game - the knees, grabs and cheap shots - because of the things he says but doesn't shy away from any of it.

He's copped so much over the years but never ducks away from it. Even this week, he was booed as he walked on to the Footy Show but his response was merely to smile and get on with things.

Social media has also opened him up to a whole new level of abuse, and often from people who hide behind anonymity, but he's willing to expose himself to that.

It's a different type of leadership, and not an approach I would ever consider or encourage with leaders in teams I coach. I never thought of doing anything like that when I was a captain because my team-mates would have been angry at me for firing up the opposition.

It might hurt the Blues over time but at the moment it helps them. I wonder in time if the animosity he's brewing will spill over on to the field at some point. Players are already fired up enough when they play Origin and this might light a fuse whether it's the next game or next year and take it to another level in a throwback to yesteryear.

Grubby stuff still goes on in State of Origin, just without the punching and attacks we remember from much of the 1980s to the 2000s.

There's no question he was a grub for most of his career but he changed and became more responsible when he assumed the Cronulla captaincy. He's still copping flak for being the person he was.

Gallen is probably bringing the game into disrepute for the things he says yet he isn't being sanctioned by the NRL. They know the value he adds and the NRL seem to be turning a blind eye.

Gallen has proven over the years he's a tough bugger and has the ammunition to back it up in the way he plays.

He went off on Wednesday night with a rib injury. I wonder how that came about?