Appo was simply phenomenal for us in the final year at Wilderspool and really came to the fore when Briers became injured.
It seemed to go to his head after he made the Dream Team and he came back the next season on the wing and unfit, and (possibly) miffed that he wasn't in the halves.
That next year never really took off and he made way for Andrew John's and was paid off.
A sad end really to his Wire career.
Don't know what happened to him after he left us.
Unfortunately al

Appo took the mickey after he'd been given an enhanced contract on the back of his 2003 season. Went back to Aus for the off season and got well out of shape and never looked like he could be bothered after that.

If he wanted to compete for a place in the halves when Briers was back he had no chance of outcompeting Nat Wood or Briers when he was in poor condition.

The sad thing about it was we had to cut one of the overseas players because of the reduction in the quota, and we prioritised keeping a waster like Appo over Sid Domic who was a top pro. Domic went on to have successful spells with Wakefield and Hull long after Appo had disappeared from relevance.

Looking back through Appo's career it seemed like there was a pattern, he had runs of spectacular form and then became anonymous when he was in the NRL too. He was talented though, had more to his game than just pace.

I remember being stood next to a fella in the South Stand, in one of Appo's last "performances". He was going beserk. If I was to attempt to type what he said, the police would be knocking on my door.
Suffice to say, it was on the lines of him being lazy at each club, after a wonder season. Roy "Chubby" Brown would've blushed.

Ah yes the "Big Brown Hamster"

In the space of 12 months he went from:

He's quick he's smart
He runs the Kwik-E-Mart
Graeme Appo

to:

He's fat he's slow
He's really got to go
Graeme Appo