His signing comes just two days before the Sharks play the North Queensland Cowboys for a place in the NRL grand final.
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Paul Gallen put pen to paper on the new deal in the company of Sharks CEO Lyall Gorman and his manager David Riolo, a contract which will see him remain at the helm of the Cronulla club in 2017.
Gallen missed Cronulla’s qualifying final win over Canberra a fortnight ago, while Tagataese hasn’t played for five weeks.
“I did full training on Tuesday and did most of the session on Sunday”.
Centre Kane Linnett is a 50-50 proposition as he continues to struggle with a hamstring issue.
But North Queensland will be buoyed by their epic extra-time victory over Brisbane in their elimination final last weekend and memories of the 39-0 hiding they handed Cronulla on their way to the premiership last season. “Sam is recovering well”, Flanagan said.
Winterstein and Ponga will travel with the team on Wednesday to Sydney. “He’s there as back-up but, at this stage, we would probably want some experience in there”, Green said.
The signing has ended months of speculation with Gallen pleased to now be able to fully concentrate on Friday night and the Sharks clash with the Cowboys.
Melbourne have listed Christian Welch as the replacement for injured giant Nelson Asofa-Solomona, but have also added Felise Kaufusi and Matt White on an extended bench. But he will lead them in their quest for a grand final spot against premiers the Cowboys at Allianz Stadium.
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Refereeing quartet Ben Cummins, Gerard Sutton, Matt Cecchin and Alan Shortall have also been retained after receiving a glowing endorsement from boss Tony Archer on Monday.
