The hype behind retiring great Paul Gallen’s final NRL home game for Cronulla has ensured a sell-out crowd for Sunday’s clash with Canberra.

But Gallen admits he is not getting ahead of himself after receiving a sobering lesson in how fickle rugby league fame can be.

Gallen will be celebrated as a Cronulla legend and a rare one-club player when he runs for what is likely to be his final game at his beloved Shark Park in Sunday’s NRL clash with the Raiders.

In his 19-year career, Gallen has remarkably played 345 NRL games, 32 Tests for Australia and 24 State of Origin matches for NSW – including captaining the Blues to their drought-breaking series victory in 2014.

Yet the 38-year-old claims his legacy will only last so long.

“We talk about legacies in rugby league, I don’t think there is any such thing,” he told Sky Sports Radio.

“In the year 2016 for my last Origin series we were getting our jerseys presented by the legendary Brad Clyde and I had half a dozen of the players in the team ask who he was.

“I am serious. It told me that you do your time there but once you’re done, you’re done as long as you have fun when you’re there.

“What I want to be remembered for is for my family and that’s my only concern – in rugby league I’d like to be remembered as a guy who did his best.”

Seventh-placed Cronulla will host Gallen’s 167th and final match at Shark Park this weekend.

Remarkably Gallen has won 91 games, scored 28 tries and run a total of 27,152m at the ground.

He has also captained the Sharks 100 times at the venue.

Still, Gallen claims he is humbled that the Cronulla fans have voted with their feet on Sunday.

“I actually questioned the club why we didn’t request the last round to be at Shark Park,” Gallen said.

“I thought we would struggle to get 14,000 but to sell it out in a day or two was quite humbling.

“But it’ll be a failure (if we don’t make finals). I won’t shy away from that.”