KEY POINTS:
NRL FINALS
Sharks 36 Raiders 10
He arrived at Cronulla as public enemy No 1 but may well depart in three weeks' time as the NRL club's ultimate saviour.
Brett Kimmorley has indeed come a long way since the days irate Sharks fans hurled abuse at their very own halfback for his perceived part in forcing then-reigning Dally M Medallist Preston Campbell out of the club.
Hearty cheers replaced those venomous jeers last night when Kimmorley ran out for his last match at Shark Park before linking with the Bulldogs next season.
There was more warm applause when the veteran No 7 left the field after inspiring Cronulla to a 36-10 qualifying final triumph over Canberra, the Sharks' faithful sensing the key to a maiden premiership in 41 long years lay in Kimmorley's hands.
Turning 32 on Monday, Kimmorley continued his vintage season with six try assists to propel the Sharks to a likely semifinal against the Roosters.
Winger Misi Taulapapa was the chief beneficiary, scoring a first-half hat-trick as the Sharks steadily built on their lead.
They were ahead 14-0 by halftime and never looked like being headed by a Raiders side which took some terrific form into the playoffs but seemed to suffer from stage-fright as the errors mounted.
It allowed Kimmorley to enjoy his last Sharks hurrah.
In his enthusiasm, he even attempted to pack down in the front row to get a scrum happening when the Sharks were attacking deep in Raiders territory as the clock wound down to halftime.
But this was nothing more than Kimmorley has always produced - week in, week out, year after year.
In seven seasons and 139 games, including all 25 in 2008, the little warrior has literally busted a ball, a shoulder, an elbow, and last year somehow played with a broken wrist for the entire campaign.
He has chased down his own kicks, continually tackled men twice his size, even had the captaincy taken from him - but not once complained.
In fact, Kimmorley says confronting hurdles has just helped him jump higher.
"There was turmoil when I came here, with Preston Campbell the half," Kimmorley said in the lead-up to his farewell encounter at Toyota Stadium.
"'Opes' (then Cronulla coach and close ally Chris Anderson) told me to just let my football do the talking."
Kimmorley might have folded after Ricky Stuart, then NSW coach and now Cronulla mentor, made him the scapegoat for the Blues' State of Origin loss in 2005 when he threw the fateful intercept pass that handed Queensland victory.
Or he could have spat the dummy when Stuart decided mid-season he was surplus to requirements in 2009.
Instead, Kimmorley just knuckled down and proceeded to play the best football of his career - and guide the Sharks to equal first in the minor premiership.
"When I knew I wasn't going to be here and Canterbury picked me up, I dealt professionally with the situation," Kimmorley said.
Professionally enough to finish fourth in the Dally M, just one man-of-the-match performance shy of winner Matt Orford.
Now a much-loved hero in the Cronulla community, Kimmorley's excellent final home game was a fitting postscript to his Sharks career.
He will leave holding several club records, including most points by a Cronulla player in a single season.
Sharks fans, though, are hoping Kimmorley can lead the club to its greatest-ever high on grand final day on October 5.
Sharks (M. Taulapapa 3, B. Seymour, L. Covell, B. Pomeroy, B. Kearney tries, Covell 3 gls, B. Kimmorley gl) Raiders 10 (M. Chalk, C. Best tries, T. Campese gl). HT: 14-0.
- AAP