Paul Gallen Says He's 'Starting To Worry' About The Lasting Effects Of Head Knocks

He's widely regarded as one of the hardest men to ever play the game of rugby league.

With over 400 first grade games, an NRL Premiership and hundreds of huge hits under his belt, it's pretty safe to say that Paul Gallen is tough as nails.

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But the former Cronulla Sharks and New South Wales Blues captain-turned-boxer admits he's starting to worry about the lasting effects of the head knocks he has sustained throughout his decorated career.

Speaking in a brutally-honest interview with 2GB's Wide World Of Sports Radio, Gallen opened up on his own health concerns amid the increased talk around concussions and even CTE in sport.

"Throughout my career I played just over 400 first-class games," Gallen told 2GB's Wide World Of Sports Radio.

"I had two concussion tests ever. One of them was after an offload and Dylan Napa got me with a bit of a high shot and I stumbled a bit when I got back up but I was fine, I passed the test.

"The other one I didn't need at all and I passed that test also. So, I was never knocked out thankfully.

"With all this talk about it, I do think about it now, it is in my mind but I think that's only because there is so much talk about it.

"I carry a pen with me whenever I'm doing radio now because sometimes I think I'm going to forget things so I write things down and that sort of worries me.

"But I've got to say, if anything happens to me when I'm 50-60 years of age and someone said to me 'You shouldn't have done this, you shouldn't have done that', I wouldn't change what I'm doing.

"I have athletic ability and I'm going to get every bit of that ability out of my body that I can.

"And when I'm retired I'm going to have nothing left. That's my attitude at the moment and that will be my attitude going forward.

"Do I worry about it? I'm starting to. But I'm not going to change."

Gallen retired from professional rugby league back in 2019 but ended up swapping the footy boots for the 12-ounce boxing gloves.

The 39-year-old has since gone on a path of sheer and utter destruction, dismantling some of the biggest names in Australian combat sports history such as Lucas Browne and Mark Hunt.

Now he's set to lock horns with undefeated soon-to-be-Olympian Justis Huni in a bout that has already attracted so much media attention.

Topics: Concussion in sport, Cronulla Sharks, Paul Gallen, Boxing, justis huni, Rugby League, nrl, Australia

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry