Despite his wretched run with injury over the past two seasons, NSW skipper
Gallen, who is about to begin his 13th season in first grade, says the thought of giving up his NSW and Australian jerseys hasn't crossed his mind.
"It's a fine line, clubs want rep players at their clubs and when you become a constant rep player they sort of don't want you to play anymore," Gallen told AAP at the Blues pre-season Origin camp on Friday.
"I've got no doubt that if I wasn't playing rep football in 2009-10 we would have struggled to attract some of the players that we did.
"It's a juggling act, but I've never considered retiring from rep football"
A veteran of 19 Origin matches, Gallen believes that there will be no drop in motivation for the Blues this year following the drought breaking victory over the Maroons in the 2014 series.
"I'd like to think that in five months when we come together again we have enough passion in that Blue jumper to perform the way we should and try to retain it (the Shield)" Gallen said.
Part of the reason Gallen is so confident of the team staying focused is the out of season meet ups and camps organised by coach Laurie Daley.
"We've been doing it for the past couple of years now and you can see that 2011, 2012 and 2013, have been really close, with only a couple of points in it and we got it last year," he said.
"It's just about building that culture and we started that a couple of years ago so it's important to stay on top of it and keep improving".
The Cronulla captain also highlighted the Emerging Blues camp as an important tool.
"Queensland have got an aging squad and we do as well as a forward pack," he said.
"People like myself, Birdy, Beau Scott, Ryan Hoffman, we're all in our 30's and we don't have that many opportunities left so we want these young guys to really step it up.
"I remember when I made my debut I barely knew anyone in the side, but having these sorts of things where they all meet and greet each other and meet us, I think it'll be good for Origin going forward and for NSW.
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