Just months after threatening to walk out on Cronulla, Test lock Paul Gallen on Wednesday signed a new deal which will see him remain a Shark for life.

Gallen signed a two-year extension which will keep him at Cronulla until the end of the 2013 NRL season, by which time the firebrand forward will be 32.

The move completes a stunning transformation in relations between Gallen and the club, after the representative star questioned his commitment when the Sharks fined him $10,000 after he was caught urinating in public last December.

Gallen was also stripped of the club captaincy in 2009 after the NRL fined him $10,000 for making a racial slur towards St George Illawarra rival Mickey Paea.

Gallen felt the club had not showed him the same loyalty he displayed in taking a pay cut when the Sharks were in dire financial straits, and it is believed he had instructed his manager to explore his options at rival clubs.

But all that was forgotten on Wednesday, with the Sharks trumpeting the new contract as a sign of the club's revival.

"The Sharks are entering a new watershed period and the contract extension is a clear reflection on the changing direction of the club," Sharks chairman Damian Irvine said.

"We have a group of talented youngsters here, and a player like Paul is an ideal leader to help them develop into future stars."

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