The Cronulla Sharks gave Paul Gallen the party he deserved for breaking the club's NRL games played record by thrashing the Cowboys 42-12, but the hangover could last for several weeks.
The milestone man himself failed to finish his 329th game, coming off late in the first half with a suspected rib injury which could see him miss one to three weeks.
"It looks like a rib cartilage injury. He felt he popped it, he's popped a few in his career but he wasn't able to return to play it will need to get scanned," Sharks coach John Morris told AAP.
It was a bittersweet end to a historic week for the skipper, who passed Sharks legend Andrew Ettingshausen's previous mark of 328 first-grade appearances.
"Gal is just happy to do his job, it he didn't want any fuss but we acknowledged it last night with the team and his Dad presented his jersey today," Morris said.
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Fullback Matt Moylan was another casualty, the 27-year-old suffering a hamstring injury in the second half which forced centre Josh Dugan to deputise at the back.
"It doesn't appear too good, his hamstring is pretty painful so we'll have our fingers crossed," Morris said.
For the Cowboys, the thrashing was an ominous early sign the club might find life without star forward Jason Taumalolo difficult until he returns from a knee injury.
Although teammate Gavin Cooper said even the Tongan rock wouldn't have turned around the Cowboys collapse.
"We didn't have the ball in the second half, so if Jase was out there all he would have been doing is helping us make tackles," Cooper said.
"We'll be without him for a while so we just have to get on with it."
Gallen and Moylan undergo scans on Monday to determine their chances of being available to play Parramatta on Saturday.
