How exactly did he go missing? He was superb.

If a player is on the losing side, it doesn't automatically mean he had a bad game. Graham was fantastic in that derby, despite being knocked out a couple of times with high shots. He also played well in the Grand Final defeats and was never owned by anyone in them. Meli conspiring to hand the game to Leeds doesn't equate to Graham being dominated.

No he didn't. He made more yards than anybody on the field.




Absolute garbage that.

...OH FFS! not another carry by the ginger minge!

Perhaps he's not human after all.

Graham is a fantastic player, i dont know why or how anyone could argue he isnt. He isnt however, the superhuman some saints fans claim him to be, nor is he perfect.

There are a few issues in his game he can sort out, and a few improvements he can make.

The biggest criticism i would have of him is he doesnt always make the impact on a game he should, and he rarely grabs a game by the scruff of the neck in the way a Peacock has done for a huge part of his career. But saying that you can guarantee every game you will get hard yards and solid defence from Graham which isnt something to be sniffed at

Judge a player on what he IS and what he DOES - not what he isn't. Both Peacock and Graham are intensely motivated and inspirational to others, but they are also different players with different strengths, weaknesses and attributes. The latter is closer to what Petero Civoniceva was to Australia for many years, whilst the former is cast from the same stuff that Shane Webcke was made of. Both were unquestionably world class players despite playing the game in contrasting styles. Criticising Graham for not being Peacock is like criticising him for not being Greg Inglis. As for his inability to "grab a game by the scruff of the neck" - I'm unsure about what ACTIONS define such play. I suspect you are too.

You can only judge a player by comparison to his peers. Graham, in comparison to his peers (which at this stage is top players at their peak, if he wants to take the next step to become a truly world class player) and in some aspects he lacks the quality needed to make that step. I dont doubt Graham can become as good as Peacock at his peak(though different), but to get there he needs to improve certain aspects of his game. IMO most of the seem mental, and should come naturally to what is still a young prop.


His ability to provide a game defining or game changing play whether in attack or defence. The ability to produce something fantastic when the momentum is against their team. This isnt something we see from Graham as often as we could. Though as i say, this is a mostly mental thing that should come with the increased maturity added experience we hope will bring. This is also something any type of Prop should be able to provide

Again, all bollox. Peacock is the name you roll out at the yardstick, yet there were no moments of such inspirational brilliance from him in any of the grand final wins. Teams win games, not individuals. The key turning points were not caused by Peacock no matter how you try to spin it. Props are not some mythical game turner, they are the platform the team wins games off. The props can lay that platform and the team lose however, they are not the be all and end all.

Graham is Saints best player most games and no other player in SL comes close to him in terms of his consistency of performance or the level of it IMO.

He's a good young prop. Interesting to see how he'd go in the NRL.

He'd be ok. No better than that.

Steven Price said he was the best prop in the world two years ago and he has improved since then so it seems pretty obvious to me that he would be one the the best props in NRL

Graham said at the same time he wasn't at Price's level.
Graham would be very very good in the NRL but he isn't the worlds best yet

Mark Flanangan looks good in the NRL. Makes me sick when people wont admit a SL player is world class because he hasent played in the NRL.

There are many players who have "ripped it up" in SL but have not been able to take that performance to the world stage ie v Australia and New Zealand. They may be best in superleague but they are not the best in the world.

People refer to the NRL as a world benchmark because thats what it is. There are no "easy" games, there is no hiding place, and the players are in the public spotlight 24/7.

The Brits that have gone out there recently are performing because they have the right mental attitude and are coachable.

Graham is a top superleague player and still has time to develop further. However, he has yet to prove himself at international level. If he went to the NRL for a couple of years he could come back here in his prime, like I hope the others will also do. It would be a boost to our game and encourage others to do likewise.

We can listen to Eddie and Stevo harping on but superleague (barring the biggest three clubs) is a pale imitation of the NRL and is not going to catch up until we massively increase youth participation in the greatest game (and the quality of coaching at that level)

As I said, he played the full 80 in '07. The inspiration was sorting out Saints main go-forward man (Fozzard, not James Graham) early doors, after which the Saints pack struggled.