Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo knows Wade Graham will leave a big hole on and off the field next year but said he is prepared to step up in the departing skipper's absence.
Having played 83 games for Cronulla and represented both Samoa and New Zealand on the international stage, Mulitalo said he is ready to provide a more senior presence to help the Sharks combat life without the 251-game backrower in 2024.
"We're getting to a time now where some of us are almost 100-gamers,” Mulitalo said at training on Tuesday.
"You've got to almost lean back on yourself and look at yourself in the mirror and go, 'Maybe it's my time to fill the holes in and provide something that the boys need'.
"He’s been so good for us in that aspect.
“He’s going to leave such a massive gap but he’ll be around here somehow, he can’t shy away from the Shire, he loves Cronulla too much.”
Admitting news of Graham’s retirement at the end of the season was hard to swallow at first, the 23-year-old Sharks flyer is going to “savour every moment” left with the veteran forward as the Sharks look to keep their top four hopes alive against the Cowboys on Thursday night.
Ronaldo Mulitalo loves a try
“We were on the beers a while ago and I kind of knew this was coming…but it caught me off guard a little bit,” he said.
"I tried to convince him, 'nah, you've got one more year I reckon, we need you around here'.
“But I’m happy for him, he’s had a big career so far and hopefully we can add to his resume.
“From now I’m just going to savour every moment and enjoy it with him and when it’s all over I can’t wait to sit down and have a beer with him.”
Meanwhile, Mulitalo knows his side's 44-6 drumming over the Cowboys in Round 9 will have left a sour taste in the mouth of all of North Queensland and will be prepared for a big contest as Todd Payten’s side fight for a place in the top eight on Thursday.
“I think they will (remember it). It’s always going to be like that, when you get one, they will want one back,” he said.
“So we’ll go to their hometown now and I think they’re going to come back fighting for it.
“We’re still chasing more defence, there was a little five-minute period where the Titans scored a try and made a break right after it.
“So those little things we need to tighten up on, but we've spoke about it, we've addressed it and know that’s where we want to get better.”
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