The popular No.7 is off contract at the end of the season but he's hoping he'll impress enough – starting with Sunday's effort against Penrith at Remondis Stadium – to convince Cronulla management he's worthy of playing in 2016.

"I'd love to play at the Sharks for one more season," he said. "I'll need to sit down with [coach] Shane Flanagan and see what his thoughts are. We chatted earlier in the year and he seemed keen to keep me around the club then, so I'm hoping my management can sit down and get something sorted out.

"My option would be to play one more year here and retire after that."

Robson conceded he had been around long enough to realise his form would determine whether he was worthy of being granted his wish. That was a view probably rammed home to him when the Sharks tried unsuccessfully to sign Manly's Daly Cherry-Evans.

"You're always applying for your job for the next week whenever you play," he said. "You go out, give your best and if you're not playing well you risk getting dropped.

"I'm looking to play consistent footy and then sit down [with Flanagan] and sort something out."

Robson, who has matched wits and skills with the likes of Cooper Cronk, Mitchell Pearce, Cherry-Evans and Johnathan Thurston over the years, said something that'd driven him since his days as an up-and-comer in the NSW rural town of Leeton was to not be his team's "weak link".

"I play to my strengths, which is organising the team well and having a good kicking game," he said. "Making all my tackles is also very important to me because halfbacks aren't [generally] renowned for being good defenders.

"I like to pride myself on being a good defender and not letting the team down by conceding 'soft' tries. I pride myself on not being the weak link because, being a smaller guy, I know I get targeted, but I don't like the thought of letting the team down."

The Sharks have improved significantly since they started 2015 with four consecutive losses, beating Sydney Roosters, Newcastle and defending premiers South Sydney in consecutive weeks.

"We weren't too far off in our first three or four games," Robson said. "Errors and penalties cost us in those games.

"We were right in each game and through it all we knew we had a good team that could compete in – and win – games. We just needed to eliminate the errors and penalties and get into the grind of playing consistent footy."

The Sharks won't have skipper Paul Gallen in Sunday's line-up against Penrith after scans revealed on Friday that his hip-gluteal injury was worse than initially thought.

Robson said while Gallen would be missed, the club was blessed with tremendous depth in their forwards.

"We have young guys like Matt Prior and also Tinirau Arona, who came in for the Souths game [when Gallen withdrew] and he did a great job for us," he said. "They've been in-and-out of the team  but whenever they've been called upon they've put their hands up and played well for us."