“I’ll try and put a shot on, and if the knee can handle the impact, I’ll be right. If it buckles again, I’m in trouble. It buckled.

“There was no point trying to protect it and play within myself. I wanted to play the way I wanted to play, and if my knee couldn’t handle it, at least I’d know. That was my thinking.

“The Titans got a six-again, so I had to stay on the field, and all I could do was get my body in the way and fill some space.”

McInnes said the enforced time on the sidelines would also allow a neck injury to recover. He compressed a nerve in round 11. That has left him suffering regular numbness in both arms. Cortisone injections and painkillers were keeping him on the field.

The lock forward is seen as the heart and soul of the Sharks, similar to the presence club favourites Dale Finucane and Paul Gallen once had. But, given his age and having just suffered a second serious knee injury, McInnes hopes the setback does not impact his chances of remaining with Cronulla beyond 2026.

The new Perth franchise would welcome a player like McInnes, who drives standards at training – he once dislodged a screw from teammate Ronaldo Mulitalo’s jaw during a wrestling session – but his young family is settled in Cronulla.

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“I wouldn’t say I’m worried about my future, but I understand how things work, and at the age I’m at, and with people wondering about my body, I’ll need to prove myself,” McInnes said.

“I would have done that anyway. I’ve never been a believer in reputation; you have to earn everything, and I’ll do that. I want to play footy, and still feel like I’ve got a left in me, despite what some people might say.

“It sucks I’m done for the year, but the club is in a great position to win this year. We’ve got so much talent in our squad, and I’ve seen the hunger and focus and understanding of what it takes to go all the way.”

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