Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan has lashed the "personal attacks" on his embattled skipper Paul Gallen before giving his blessing for the NSW stalwart to have a State of Origin farewell despite the prospect of missing a crucial Sharks game.
As pressure grows on Blues coach Laurie Daley and the selectors to fast track NSW's changing of the guard by axing Gallen for the dead rubber in Sydney, Flanagan has launched a passionate defence of the man poised to become the state's longest-serving captain.
Daley has indicated he will grant Gallen an Origin send-off at ANZ Stadium, which would rule the 34-year-old out of the table-topping Sharks' clash with Penrith just three days earlier.
And Flanagan has no qualms about Gallen, who most notably has come under fire from NSW's most successful coach Phil Gould, from bunkering down in Origin camp one final time.
Asked if the criticism of Gallen was warranted, Flanagan said: "It's become personal those comments. Let's just judge Gal on his performance. I've heard some [comments] Gal was getting the ball too much, but that's the team structure. That's the coach's job to make sure he doesn't get the ball first off the ruck.
"He deserved his spot in Origin I and II and he deserved his spot in the Test match. There are some smart people involved in selecting those teams. They're not going to pick Gal if he's not ready to play. He was man of the match in the Test match. I think those comments are pretty unfair.
"I think he will be one of the first players picked [for Origin III]."
The Sharks - who will equal a club record 11 straight wins with victory over the improving Warriors at Southern Cross Group Stadium on Saturday evening - could lose as many as five players to NSW duty for Origin III.
Wade Graham, who was denied a maiden Blues jumper after being suspended at the judiciary, is in the frame for a belated debut with Jack Bird an option to partner Sharks veteran James Maloney in the halves. Andrew Fifita and Gallen are mainstays of the pack.
Flanagan, who has previously worked on the support staff in the Blues set-up under Craig Bellamy, said he would be happy to see his quintet earn higher honours.
"It's been a disruptive week in a sense, but I want Origin players in our club," Flanagan said. "And if I want Origin players in our club then we need to be able to suck it up.
"NSW are playing against a super side. They [Queensland] have probably got half a dozen - maybe more - of the best players in the competition along with the best hooker [Cameron Smith] I've ever seen. The five-eighth [Johnathan Thurston] is probably going to be the best player we'll ever see to date.
"I think we should stop eating ourselves and stand up and applaud the Queensland side. It's hard for me to say that, but they're just too good. We could pick another side, but it's going to be the same result.
"[Gallen] has been a great servant for NSW and he played 80 minutes in the front row and it was claimed to be one of the greatest Origin performances [in 2011]. He's worked really hard for NSW. They haven't had the results while he's been there - we all know that - but he has great passion and pride in that NSW jersey."
Flanagan expects Gallen, Maloney, Bird and Andrew Fifita to back up against the Warriors, but confirmed he would look to rest some of his heavy-legged stars towards the end of the regular season.
"We'll look at our draw, the sports science and GPS as well as all the data that comes from their training loads ... and where we are on the table helps when you're planning to rest one or two of them," Flanagan said. "But we need to keep winning and set ourselves up for a top two finish."
