I'm stating the obvious whe I say, "Every coach in SL would snap up James Graham if they had the chance", but to say he is better than Morley/Fielden is a massive statement.

Fielden at his best could do the business through the middle, outwide, in defence or attack. Morley on the other hand was, and still is, one of the most ferocious tacklers British rugby league has ever had. All very good in their own way, but only Morley has proven himself in the NRL. Graham, obviously, still has the chance.

he'll keep putting it off and putting it off..


if he had any sense he'd go next season

Over rated to the maximum

Graham made over 200 metres and laid on 2 tries in the 54-0 whitewash of HKR.

It's done Sam Burgess no harm this season, or Gareth Ellis for the last 2 years. Burgess has played 70+ minutes for the last few weeks as a prop and got plenty of praise for his efforts. They have already improved by playing in the NRL, and will continue to get better.

I can't see how Graham going over to Oz would be anything other than good for England. That said, if he was playing for my team and left for the NRL, I'm pretty sure I'd be cheesed off too

Its a massive myth surrounding Graham and him playing 80 mins every match.

He is capable of doing that, and does do that if needs must, eg Saints lose a number of players to injury, however normally he plays the first 20-25 mins of the first half and the last 30 mins of the second half. There are also times when he may only be used for 15 mins in the second half.

His workrate when on the field though is phenomenal for a prop.

He is easily the best prop in SL. Morley is very good but only plays in short bursts.
Peacock is the only prop similar to Graham with regards to consistency in that he can keep taking it in time after time, play long minutes if necessary and make huge amounts of yards.

Serious question... have Burgess and Ellis improved by playing the NRL? In the UK, we always say that playing in the NRL will make so and so a better player but I'm not sure that is the case – sure, they may be playing in a more competitive league and get used to the week on week intensity but are they actually better players

I have seen both Ellis and Burgess play in NRL games and I don't see any skills that they didn't possess when in the UK (in fact, I think the NRL has blunted Ellis's attacking game a little)

I think Graham's workrate is more to do with the sheer number of carries he makes, and his meters per carry isn't the greatest.

Morley may only play in short bursts but he's more destructive in defence.

As for the NRL, it may not improve any player that goes over there, but performing against the games best players week in week out demonstrates just how good you are.

morley's playing 60+ minutes a game this year,

Ellis is a better all-round player now than he was. When he first moved to Aus he kept going for big hits and getting caught out of position in defence. Burgess suffered similarly too. Both of them will be able to read play better than when they left, simply because they are facing higher quality teams every week.

FWIW I think Graham's pretty good, but it would be very interesting to see how his game would get modified in the NRL.

Never rated Ellis personally, I thought he was a solid player with an excellent work rate, but I never saw anything exceptional about him, maybe that's just me.

As for playing in the NRL, it may have the potential to make you a better player, but there are examples where it hasn't worked. Ian Sibbit for example got a reasonable amount of game time when he went down under, but he came back pretty much the same player as he was when he left.

On the subject of Graham, it's difficult to argue against him being one of the very top props in the league. Naming him, or Morley, or Peacock etc as "the very best prop" in the league though becomes somewhat more subjective given that, as people have already pointed out, these players all have different 'primary skills'.

I would say Graham ought to be one of the first names inked in on the squad list for internationals.

Of course he made over 200m... 54-0 = a lot of kick of returns!!

Imagine how many more metres he would make if he actually ran into the defensive line, rather than passing the ball before taking a hit-up.

They've improved IMO, especially Ellis. They are better players because of the intensity of the weekly rounds over there, playing against better players. Some players would struggle in the NRL, but I think think these 2 have excelled

Is Burgess playing prop or back row?

Souths have had an injury crisis in the forwards so he has been forced to play in the front row.

In regards to Graham I hope he does come down under I'll tell you what Saints fans I'll swap you Chris Bailey for him. I was going to say Josh Perry but you've already signed him