James Graham on the bench : Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:54 am  

Graham has been selected for the bench for Canterbury's opening match this weekend behind Aiden Tolman and Sam Kasiano. Going off Hasler's comments it really doesn't appear that he particularly rates Graham's achievements to date. I think most super league fans would expect Graham to be a star in the NRL like he was over here, rather than merely being "able to play NRL". ''The biggest challenge James will have in front of him this year is just the consistency,'' Hasler said. ''The week-in, week-out grind, that's what he's got to get accustomed to. I think he has the makings to be able to play NRL, that's for sure.'' Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... z1nl7VdFG7

Graham has been selected for the bench for Canterbury's opening match this weekend behind Aiden Tolman and Sam Kasiano. Going off Hasler's comments it really doesn't appear that he particularly rates Graham's achievements to date. I think most super league fans would expect Graham to be a star in the NRL like he was over here, rather than merely being "able to play NRL". ''The biggest challenge James will have in front of him this year is just the consistency,'' Hasler said. ''The week-in, week-out grind, that's what he's got to get accustomed to. I think he has the makings to be able to play NRL, that's for sure.'' Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... z1nl7VdFG7

Re: James Graham on the bench : Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:47 am  

jeezus...if George Rose can play every week in the best team in the competition, then I think James Graham will be fine.

Re: James Graham on the bench : Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:06 am  

Rewind the clock a few years and we have similar comments about Ellis and we know how that turned out. As usual, the Australian’s simultaneously overestimating themselves and underestimating the rest... it’s not a RL issue, more of a unconscious national defence at being a geographical, cultural and economic irrelevance in the world

Re: James Graham on the bench : Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:07 am  

Ryan Tandy won a Grand Final as a regular with Melbourne. Don't tell me James Graham is going to struggle. He's got a better engine on him than any prop in the NRL, so the bit about consistency being a problem is just ridiculous.

It will take him time to adapt to the NRL, but give him a few games and he'll be as good as anything they have.

Hasler is just one of those coaches who can't accept anyone that wasn't brought through in the NRL can be any good. Like the coach that said Gareth Ellis couldn't tackle and had no game knowledge, only for him to blitz the NRL and win his club's player of the year award three times in a row.

Re: James Graham on the bench : Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:15 am  

"I think he has the makings to be able to play NRL, that's for sure.''

What part of that comment says he won't be good enough?

You clowns read what you want to read.

What you don't consider is that it's a 17 man game and the bloke starting in his place is a 10-minute specialist. Graham will play more minutes than he will. And in any event Tolman is no certain starter so Graham may well start. Greg Eastwood is also on the Dogs bench but no one is getting a chip on their shoulder over that.

Re: James Graham on the bench : Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:25 am  

Dunbar wrote:

Rewind the clock a few years and we have similar comments about Ellis and we know how that turned out. As usual, the Australian’s simultaneously overestimating themselves and underestimating the rest... it’s not a RL issue, more of a unconscious national defence at being a geographical, cultural and economic irrelevance in the world

Agreed, Australians do tend to have a bit of an inferiority complex and try to mask this by bugging up 'strarlier' at every opportunity. Many interviews I've seen of people visiting Australia the first question is 'what di you think of Australia?' like they need some kind of reassurance.

Re: James Graham on the bench : Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:25 am  

ECT wrote:

"I think he has the makings to be able to play NRL, that's for sure.''

What part of that comment says he won't be good enough?

It is the infuriatingly patronising part... this top quality international Rugby League player has the 'makings' to be able to play in the NRL. There are many many players in the NRL who are nowhere near the standard he has played at

Re: James Graham on the bench : Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:31 am  

ECT wrote:

"I think he has the makings to be able to play NRL, that's for sure.''

What part of that comment says he won't be good enough?

Greg Eastwood is also on the Dogs bench but no one is getting a chip on their shoulder over that.

It depends on if anyone's sat in front of him. When he was at Leeds, old' Greg would make at least 3 visits a week to the KFC in Headingley to lose himself in a bargain bucket to getaway from his pangs of homesickness and there are a lot of chips in there!

Re: James Graham on the bench : Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:33 am  

Maybe this is just a bit of "coach speak", they wouldn't have signed him if he wasn't better than they already had.
Just imagine if you are James Graham reading that, he will be absolutely busting a gut and its sure to put a few extra metres on him.

Re: James Graham on the bench : Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:44 am  

The James Graham of 3 or 4 seasons ago would have been ripping up the NRL. Having to carry the Saints pack for years may well have taken the shine off his game, and I think the coach is well aware of this.

Good luck to Jammer. I hope he does settle in quickly and make a name for himself.