James Graham.

[Old Timer]

Interesting what people are saying about Graham in the World Cup game.
1. He is a competitor
2. He chased Dugan all the way when no one else did
3. He was totally spent at the end of the game
Whilst I am a long way convinced from this being the great signing many predict I do acknowledge all the above points are true however I totally expect points 1 & 2 from everyone in the team.
So if we have people in our side not doing that, then lets be less enthusiastic about them and get rid of them rather than lauding Graham.
In respect of chasing Dugan where were the rest of the English slackers and do we really want our prop exhausting himself that much unless the game was emphatically on the line with the pending conversion?
In the rest of this tournament I want to see what attacking skills Graham is going to bring to the English side because as correctly suggested in another post he is not a bend the line type of player.
If he takes up the role of a second 5/8 and becomes a ball hog like he was at the Dogs I will be very disappointed and concerned about what value he brings to our side.

 

[grouch]

Threw a terrible inside ball that was intercepted by Aaron Woods of all people.

 

[Datramp]

Interesting what people are saying about Graham in the World Cup game.
1. He is a competitor
2. He chased Dugan all the way when no one else did
3. He was totally spent at the end of the game
Whilst I am a long way convinced from this being the great signing many predict I do acknowledge all the above points are true however I totally expect points 1 & 2 from everyone in the team.
So if we have people in our side not doing that, then lets be less enthusiastic about them and get rid of them rather than lauding Graham.
In respect of chasing Dugan where were the rest of the English slackers and do we really want our prop exhausting himself that much unless the game was emphatically on the line with the pending conversion?
In the rest of this tournament I want to see what attacking skills Graham is going to bring to the English side because as correctly suggested in another post he is not a bend the line type of player.
If he takes up the role of a second 5/8 and becomes a ball hog like he was at the Dogs I will be very disappointed and concerned about what value he brings to our side.

He also made 42 tackles and missed none and ran for 163m against arguably the best team in the world.

 

[TruSaint]

In respect of chasing Dugan where were the rest of the English slackers and do we really want our prop exhausting himself that much unless the game was emphatically on the line with the pending conversion?.

OT, you raise a good point re chasing Dugan when the game was well and truly over.

Thing is, that Graham will chase down anyone whether or not they are behind, or ahead by 20. I have seen him with the Dogs, leading the chase to ensure the kick was not made easy. Its his mindset and competitive nature that stands out. I hope its contagious to be honest.

 

[Old Timer]

OT, you raise a good point re chasing Dugan when the game was well and truly over.

Thing is, that Graham will chase down anyone whether or not they are behind, or ahead by 20. I have seen him with the Dogs, leading the chase to ensure the kick was not made easy. Its his mindset and competitive nature that stands out. I hope its contagious to be honest.

I agree re the mind set however if he has to do that for us we have brought him for all the wrong reasons as I believe that to be the coaches job
If that is his job then make him captain / coach and save the money on the imposter we have as coach

 

[Old Timer]

He also made 42 tackles and missed none and ran for 163m against arguably the best team in the world.

For his 163m they scored 6 points
Best team in the world minus Fafitta, Taumolo and a few others and including Woods hardly think so.
42 tackles with no misses is great was it our tackling that stopped us from making the eight?
His running and tackle stats for the Dogs were also good how did that translate into team performance?
We need a player who will make the difference in attack and I am not sure he will do that so I hope the rest of the Workd Cup showcases his skills in that area.
I don’t believe we need a 33 / 34 year old
whose greatest attribute is tackling or ducking his head and running into the defence.

 

[Datramp]

For his 163m they scored 6 points
Best team in the world minus Fafitta, Taumolo and a few others and including Woods hardly think so.
42 tackles with no misses is great was it our tackling that stopped us from making the eight?
His running and tackle stats for the Dogs were also good how did that translate into team performance?
We need a player who will make the difference in attack and I am not sure he will do that so I hope the rest of the Workd Cup showcases his skills in that area.
I don’t believe we need a 33 / 34 year old
whose greatest attribute is tackling or ducking his head and running into the defence.

There were plenty of games where our tackling and lack of 1% efforts cost us the game and the 8. The forwards can only put you on the front foot. You cant on 1 hand say I don't want Graham as a ball player and then complain that he wasn't an attacking weapon? 163m and 42 tackles is bloody good for a prop. Not much more he could have done to get his side the best chance to attack.

There were a number of reasons England lost. Namely: Ruck speed - Australia slowed the ball down much better in the ruck than England did, Halfback - English halfback was rubbish, Rub of the green and the Sheer skill/class differential between Slater and Lomax.

Graham received high praise for his game which was great. Whats the guy meant to do? play every role? He's a prop. Do we sit there and go Klemmer is rubbish because he doesn't set up tries, or Vaughn or Ah mau? nope they are judged on meters gained, tackles, effort.

 

[Carlton]

There were plenty of games where our tackling and lack of 1% efforts cost us the game and the 8. The forwards can only put you on the front foot. You cant on 1 hand say I don't want Graham as a ball player and then complain that he wasn't an attacking weapon? 163m and 42 tackles is bloody good for a prop. Not much more he could have done to get his side the best chance to attack.

There were a number of reasons England lost. Namely: Ruck speed - Australia slowed the ball down much better in the ruck than England did, Halfback - English halfback was rubbish, Rub of the green and the Sheer skill/class differential between Slater and Lomax.

Graham received high praise for his game which was great. Whats the guy meant to do? play every role? He's a prop. Do we sit there and go Klemmer is rubbish because he doesn't set up tries, or Vaughn or Ah mau? nope they are judged on meters gained, tackles, effort.

It wasn't just that he ran for 163metres it was the fact that he didn't get held up or pushed back and played the ball quickly. Packer did not make a lot of metres he hit the line fell to his knees before he could be wrestled and then played it quickly. Graham is similar in this respect.

Do I want a prop who will work till he drops in attack and defence, sure as hell I do. Do I want a prop who will continuously close the inside and who reads the play to make those desperation tackles, sure do.

 

[BennyV]

For his 163m they scored 6 points
Best team in the world minus Fafitta, Taumolo and a few others and including Woods hardly think so.
42 tackles with no misses is great was it our tackling that stopped us from making the eight?
His running and tackle stats for the Dogs were also good how did that translate into team performance?
We need a player who will make the difference in attack and I am not sure he will do that so I hope the rest of the Workd Cup showcases his skills in that area.
I don’t believe we need a 33 / 34 year old
whose greatest attribute is tackling or ducking his head and running into the defence.

FMD what do you want from the guy? You don't buy a prop to create in attack, that's why we bought a halfback.

You buy a prop to chew up metres, generate momentum and make tackles, and anything else they bring is a bonus. Graham showed he can do that, his chase on Dugan shows his willingness to put in effort and his leadership and ball skills have been on show for years. Ergo, he is a good signing to replace the starting front rower that we lost.

This is like your bullshit about Sims - complained because he didn't single handedly win us games and when he did that, you complained that he only did it once! Take the signing for what it is - a very good front rower to replace a starting prop - and judge him against others in his position.

 

[SaintPauli]

He also made 42 tackles and missed none and ran for 163m against arguably the best team in the world.

I am only a slight sceptic due to his age and past his best BUT for best nrl comp on planet and weekly grind he will not disappoint. Especially during origin period. I like the never give up attitude which will rub off onto other players and also what he does away from the ball. He is often the first chaser from team mates kicks, chasing the defence. Looking forward to his experience. Nice gain.

 

[TomRedVRiver]

Just remember, we are not paying full price for a player who will bring leadership and sheer will to our squad. He won't be missing over the origin period either. I'd say that's a massive coup.

 

[Brutalitops]

Graham is going to be insanely valuable to us, in fact almost as valuable as Ben Hunt. Look at his fire, as if that is not going to influence the likes of JDB, Vaughan and Friz

And I can't help but smile thinking of the possibility of our backs snapping into gear to avoid a Graham spray

 

[TomRedVRiver]

The way to get the best out of your players is to set an effort and standards benchmark. That is exactly what James Graham does.
His linespeed is constantly strong, which will force the players around him to keep up.
His desperation in defence is the best in the league, which will force the players around him to show that same desperation.
When there is nothing left in the tank, he finds that extra gear. That will encourage our boys to not throw the towel in when they feel like they have nothing left.
He sparks that competitive style of footy amongst the playing group, as if to say "beat that" after every tackle he makes.
He will have your back out there and that will give the boys the confidence of knowing that their mate outside them has got their back too, and they have theirs in return.
He is the ultimate "follow me" style player that every team needs.

Granted, he doesn't bend the line like he used to, but he is out there f**king busting his ass. It's the example he sets and the ability to push those around him to achieve that same standard of passion and effort, that is where his true value lies.

 

[Old Timer]

FMD what do you want from the guy? You don't buy a prop to create in attack, that's why we bought a halfback.

You buy a prop to chew up metres, generate momentum and make tackles, and anything else they bring is a bonus. Graham showed he can do that, his chase on Dugan shows his willingness to put in effort and his leadership and ball skills have been on show for years. Ergo, he is a good signing to replace the starting front rower that we lost.

This is like your bullshit about Sims - complained because he didn't single handedly win us games and when he did that, you complained that he only did it once! Take the signing for what it is - a very good front rower to replace a starting prop - and judge him against others in his position.

You ask what I want well it is obvious I want a ball playing and creative prop
How many more metres do you think we need to get we already made plenty of metres last year
Yes we now have a half and that’s great but exactly what is wrong in your opinion with having a ball playing prop?
Don’t you think it would be an attractive addition to the team and offer another set of options for defence to consider?
Re your comment from re Simms well time for you to be fair and acknowledge where I did give him credit for improvement. I still don’t see him as the big game breaker others see him as.
For the record that criticism is a bit rich coming from you when you were the Lafai zealot (can’t wait for you to ark up again when you read that line)
Re JG replacing a starting prop well Packer both started and came off the bench and was also touted as being a bloke that could break the line and offload so are you telling me that is Graham’s skill set?
Yes he was like that 3 years ago but recent form shows him as a tackling and head down prop and IMO we need better than that.

 

[Old Timer]

The way to get the best out of your players is to set an effort and standards benchmark. That is exactly what James Graham does.
His linespeed is constantly strong, which will force the players around him to keep up.
His desperation in defence is the best in the league, which will force the players around him to show that same desperation.
When there is nothing left in the tank, he finds that extra gear. That will encourage our boys to not throw the towel in when they feel like they have nothing left.
He sparks that competitive style of footy amongst the playing group, as if to say "beat that" after every tackle he makes.
He will have your back out there and that will give the boys the confidence of knowing that their mate outside them has got their back too, and they have theirs in return.
He is the ultimate "follow me" style player that every team needs.

Granted, he doesn't bend the line like he used to, but he is out there f**king busting his ass. It's the example he sets and the ability to push those around him to achieve that same standard of passion and effort, that is where his true value lies.

Are you telling me Friz and De Bellin don’t do that already?
If others don’t get inspired by them well as I said before time to offload the bludgers because why will they do it for Graham?

 

[Old Timer]

There were plenty of games where our tackling and lack of 1% efforts cost us the game and the 8. The forwards can only put you on the front foot. You cant on 1 hand say I don't want Graham as a ball player and then complain that he wasn't an attacking weapon? 163m and 42 tackles is bloody good for a prop. Not much more he could have done to get his side the best chance to attack.

There were a number of reasons England lost. Namely: Ruck speed - Australia slowed the ball down much better in the ruck than England did, Halfback - English halfback was rubbish, Rub of the green and the Sheer skill/class differential between Slater and Lomax.

Graham received high praise for his game which was great. Whats the guy meant to do? play every role? He's a prop. Do we sit there and go Klemmer is rubbish because he doesn't set up tries, or Vaughn or Ah mau? nope they are judged on meters gained, tackles, effort.

That's not what I said.
I said I wanted a ball playing prop and Graham isn't it.

 

[TomRedVRiver]

Are you telling me Friz and De Bellin don’t do that already?
If others don’t get inspired by them well as I said before time to offload the bludgers because why will they do it for Graham?

Completely understand where you're coming from OT, but we're talking about a 360 game veteran who has captained his club and been a leader for most of his career. De Belin/Frizell and co are strong, inspirational players... But I just feel like Graham has that extra influence. He's the kind of guy you listen to when he opens his mouth. Wouldn't surprise me if he becomes a Head Coach after his playing career.

 

[Datramp]

That's not what I said.
I said I wanted a ball playing prop and Graham isn't it.

Who is an example of a ball playing prop that you would like? (serious question).

 

[TruSaint]

Are you telling me Friz and De Bellin don’t do that already?
If others don’t get inspired by them well as I said before time to offload the bludgers because why will they do it for Graham?

OT - again with respect.

JDB and Friz are leaders in their own rights, but neither ( esp Friz ), do much talking on the field.

Graham whether he carries the "c" next to his name or not is renowned for getting into players when they dont aim up, intimidating the opposition, taking the 1st hit up after a tough trot, and doing all the non-flashy stuff that others dont.

Friz is a supreme athlete, but very quiet. Same can be said with most of our pack.

He also does have a good off load, can play good minutes and again, bring experience in big games our current props lack.

 

[SBD82]

@Old Timer

Sometimes I feel like I could give you a million dollars and you would complain it's not two.

Graham is a bloke who I'd want in the trenches with me. I can't think of higher praise than that.

Is he going to singlehanded win us a comp? No. But that's why there are 13 blokes on the footy field. And I'm glad that he is going to be one of our 13 next year.