What Paul Gallen meant when he said 'turn the porch lights off'

Paul Gallen of the Sharks. Photo / Getty Images.

It'sthe first thing NRL commentator Ray "Rabbits" Warren uttered after the final whistle blew at last night's grand final: "You can turn the light off now."

Cronulla captain Paul Gallen said the same thing to Sharks fans in the emotional moments after the historic win: "Turn your porch lights off because we are coming home with the trophy."

It's the phrase footy fans heard again and again in relationship to the Sharks' victory - so, what the hell was everyone on about?

The saying comes from the words of legendary rugby league coach Jack Gibson who once joked that "waiting for Cronulla to win a premiership is like leaving the porch lamp on for Harold Holt".

Gibson was known for spinning a quote or two, but this one in particular resonated with Cronulla Sharks as Gibson doubted the team would ever win the trophy.

Only diehard footy fans would have understood this quote during Gallen's victory speech.

Gibson made the point Cronulla was struggling so hard to win a premiership, the victory would be as probable as Harold Holt returning home, extremely unlikely and maybe even impossible.

Holt was Australia's 17th prime minister who disappeared at one of his favourite swimming and snorkelling spots, Cheviot Beach near Point Nepean in Victoria, in 1967, the same year the Sharks entered the NRL competition.

The search for Holt ended up being one of the largest in Australian history but the prime minister had disappeared without a trace.

Now 49 years later, Holt has still not been found and leaving the porch light on for him would seem like a useless endeavour.

Fans have also been waiting 49 years to see Cronulla bring home the premiership trophy and now they can do it proudly after beating Melbourne Storm 14-12, proving it was worth it for fans to leave their porch lights on and continue supporting the team to witness this Cinderella story.

Holt's grandson, Robert Holt, told the Daily Telegraph leading up to the game that he would cheer for Cronulla Sharks and wondered if the Sharks' win would be an omen of his grandfather coming home.

"You never know," Holt said.

"He would love to prove Jack Gibson wrong."

Gibson coached the Sharks 1985 to 1987 and his quote about the porch light made Holt a Cronulla Football Club icon.

Harold Holt began trending on Twitter following Cronulla's win, with one even claiming "I've just seen #HaroldHolt turn the #porchlight off".

Others joked Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had some new competition now Holt was back.

Gibson's porch light quote first appeared in 1988, when he released his book Played Strong, Done Fine.

He wrote it right after he finished coaching the Sharks, a team that had appeared in and lost four grand finals before Sunday night's win.

While Holt would now be about 108 years old, it's not likely he will reappear, but Cronulla Sharks proved miracles really can happen.

Gibson coached the Sharks 1985 to 1987 and his quote about the porch light made Holt a Cronulla Football Club icon.

-News.com.au