The tears shed by Andrew Fifita on stage at the Sharks grand final presentation on Thursday night were not surprising. Sections of the media have torn the front-rower to bits for the past six weeks, yet somehow he has risen to play his best football.

Much like Sharks skipper Paul Gallen, James Maloney was thinking he really needed a break. But a first Kangaroos call has been enough for that body cultured for football rather than chiselled in the gym to pick itself up and go again.

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Richie Sambora butchering Livin' On A Prayer and hammering out the riff to Dead or Alive was the highlight of the NRL grand final day, for mine.

A century ago, Australian sporting teams left players out of tours to England because they were not the right type of chap. They might be a risk of passing the port the wrong way, blowing their noses too loudly, or otherwise embarrassing the colonials in front of their hosts. Or they might be Irish Catholics. Or they might not "fit in". No official explanation was given, thanks to the convenient cloak of selection-room confidentiality, but everyone heard the rumours and held a theory. Lines in the sand were drawn about off-field behaviour. Omissions were never purely on the basis of form or ability. You were either in or out of the clique.

Andrew Fifita has been tabled an offer to meet with the NRL's top brass to seek an explanation over his Kangaroos ineligibility as his Cronulla Sharks teammates hoped the selection row wouldn't force him to walk away from the game.

Grand final hero Andrew Fifita is believed to be so disillusioned with being deemed ineligible for Kangaroos selection he has threatened to quit the NRL, just days after leading the Sharks to a historic premiership.

Federal Treasurer and the Sharks' No.1 ticketholder Scott Morrison wants other levels of government to help fund Cronulla's redevelopment plans for Southern Cross Group Stadium while passionately defending the future of suburban grounds in the NRL.

The front-of-jersey sponsorship for the NRL's cinderella side could be up for grabs at the end of next year with the club's major backer, Southern Radiology, unsure whether it will be able to sign on beyond next season.

Big Canberra Raiders prop Shannon Boyd has spent the past two days in a shearing shed but will rub shoulders with rugby league's best later this week.

James Maloney has been selected as part of the Four Nations squad, but Paul Gallen wasn't so lucky.

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With only two newish sides still to win the NRL, the romance has been drained from rugby league after the Sharks overcame the Storm to win an historic premiership.

The father of Sharks skipper Paul Gallen has slammed the Australian Sports Anti Doping Agency's pursuit of Cronulla players over the 2011 supplements program as "a joke" as coach Shane Flanagan said he would go through the whole ordeal again to savour an NRL title.

Cronulla fans were out in droves on Monday to celebrate the club's historic maiden premiership.

Sharks coach Shane Flanagan claimed Kangaroos boss Mal Meninga won't be picking the best Australian team if he discards premiership winners Paul Gallen and Andrew Fifita from his Four Nations touring party.

Retired Sharks hooker Michael Ennis looks set to assume a coaching role with the club next season.

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The Sharks bad boy played the house down in the grand final. But he doesn't deserve a Kangaroos jumper yet.

He's secured an NRL premiership, now Sharks winger Valentine Holmes wants a chance at State of Origin.

"Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough, but it's a small price to pay for living a dream."

Thirteen years after winning his first grand final, Luke Lewis won a second and has a Clive Churchill medal to go with it after the Sharks broke their premiership duck at the 50th time of trying.