Mulitalo in tears after Graham's retirement call

"It caught me off guard a little bit," Mulitalo told AAP.

"I remember sitting at the table and I didn't even think it was coming up, then he said it.

"I tried to convince him, 'Oh, nah, you've got one more year I reckon, we need you around here'. I thought I convinced him, but obviously not.

"I never thought I'd cry for another grown man but there's always a first for everything. It's good to show emotion."

Winger Mulitalo broke into the Sharks' first-grade set-up in 2019 at a time of roster transition under former coach John Morris.

Players including Will Kennedy, Blayke Brailey, Briton Nikora, Siosifa Talakai, Sione Katoa and Toby Rudolf also became regular first-graders in that period.

Graham, a member of the Sharks' 2016 premiership team and six-time State of Origin player, had plenty to teach the flood of young players about the rigours of NRL football.

But it was off the field he made the biggest impression on his teammates.

"You're in an environment where it's hard to talk, it's hard to be yourself," Mulitalo said.

"He's allowed me to be myself and who I am. 

"He's probably kept me in line a fair bit as well.

"Obviously as a young guy, there's so much life ahead of us young boys and he's just there to make sure we're not doing the stuff that would take us away from the main thing, which is footy. 

"He just kept a happy environment. We talk about leaders going first and he's one of them."

When Graham officially announced his retirement last week, Mulitalo and his young teammates had reason to reflect on their own leadership responsibilities.

"We're getting to the time now where we're almost 100-gamers," Mulitalo said.

"You've almost got to lean back on yourself and look at yourself in the mirror and go, 'Maybe it's my time to fill the holes in and provide something that the boys need'. 

"(Graham) has been so good for us in that aspect."

Knowing his time playing with his mate is now limited, Mulitalo has been motivated to do everything in his power to push the Sharks into the finals.

Back-to-back defeats of South Sydney and Gold Coast have pulled them back into playoff calculations after a lean stretch of form threatened their chances.

Given Cronulla's strong-for-and-against, winning once in the final three weeks of the season should be enough to seal one last finals campaign for Graham.

"He's had a good career so far, hopefully we can add to his resume," Mulitalo said.