I don't anyone 'wants' him to get battered, but some are doubting whether he can transfer to the NRL with any great success.

I've based my opinion on the games I've seen him play - in the high tempo intensity of big games when he's looked tired and broken, when his back and other problems have clearly taken their toll. He's been doing too much for too long and it's shown, and I wonder whether he can raise to the week-in, week-out intensity and speed of the NRL. Of course better conditioning and coaching will help, so we'll see.

I hope he does well, I really do, but I have some doubts, that's all.

That's his quoted reason for going: to freshen him up. He was getting stale and he wanted a new challenge. He's got himself one.

He wasn't at his best during 2011 except in the Wigan games when he was ferocious. If the Bulldogs get Jammer with his Wigan mindset in place then they will have a belter of a prop.

Well said mate.

I don't get this Graham bashing at all,I know he played for my club but in all honesty if he played for Wigan I would still rate the guy highly.He is a machine who will do alright in the NRL,less games and probably less game time on the pitch says to me we will see the Jammer of a couple of years ago,immense.

James Graham will do well in the NRL as long as he stays fit.

Another top player brought through by St Helens.

Graham is an awesome player who is a pleasure to watch, I believe will do very well in the NRL.

I agree Cronus.I wish Graham the very best in Aus but I think he peaked around four years ago.He just looks full of puff these days and has lost all power.His taking of the short ball three meters from the try line before turning in the tackle won't wash down under.

Graham finished the season with lower back trouble. He should really have missed the end of the season, but being Jammer he said hell no.

He won't destroy the NRL and I just hope the Canterbury fans know what they are getting. i.e not a player like Sam Burgess who'll absolutely smash a player in a spectacular big hit, then do nothing for the rest of the game and finish with 60m made. Instead he'll give them the RL version of the duracell bunny.

The only thing that could potentially limit Jammer in Aus is the sun. Cliched I know, but look at the man. He's white as snow and bright ginger. Those people are not designed to be burned in the sun. He'll have to apply factor 50 constantly.

Graham bashing, or just a few Wigan fans who aren't prepared to admit that anyone other than Prince Sam can make it in the NRL?

An absolute fuçking myth.

Not sure why i've waited 6 pages to comment. Maybe because I enjoy the in-house bickering to an extent. But I have no doubt Graham will be an excellent player in the NRL. I was actually more impressed with him this Four Nations than in past internationals. He really carried the English pack this year.

The Australian winter sun has been known to burn people of his complexion though, that much is no joke. It's funny, but reality.

should make him more slippery and harder to tackle.

But if it is a myth why are there so many ex NRL assistant Coaches or failed NRL Coaches in SL that are currently considered the best in England?

As far as conditioning I am not sure but the Aussies looked at least as fit as the English players in the recent series.

There has been a history of Australia thrashing England in the last quarter, is this conditioning? Australia moving up two gears when they want to? or Shenton going off?

I hope Graham does well, the Dogs are a good option for him.
The intensity or the NRL may make him a different player if used properly, he will not be the standout that has to carry the pack and that will be good for him.

Because people believe the myth.





As fit as?




It could be, but very unlikely. More to do with things like tackle counts, missed tackles, metres made by the aussies in the game. How many in a tackle. etc. etc. Many, many variables. Aussies get on a roll, and we let our heads fall. Generally, fück all to do with fitness.





I hope so too. How often have you seen this bloke play then Jonesy, to pass such a comment on him?

I should add that the reason I say it's a myth is that I have spoken to several players who have played in both comps as well as a fitness conditioner friend who was in SL and have said there is no real difference in strength and conditioning. I can only go by what the players who actually experience it rather than us fans opinions on what we choose to believe.

They love their stats over there. He will undoubtedly impress with his metre making and willingness to take the ball up twice in a set for as long as he is on. They also like a forward who has ball skills and Graham has brilliant hands. I think they'll really rate him.

I hope he does really well, he has an amazing skillset. My only concern is his injuries but I have a feeling after a while they'll cease to be a problem.

The myth is a strong one then, the fans believe it, the Clubs in England believe it.
Who else is there to convince?

I said as least as fit as England I was being sarcastic, have you ever heard anyone say the England players are fitter than the Kangaroo's or the Kiwis and we will grind them down in the last quarter of the game?

I have never heard or seen any suggestion that if it came down to fitness or conditioning England/GB had the edge. I don't have a friend that knows these things. Which players did you talk too?

Fitness has lots to do with metres gained, tackles, fatigue, out of position etc.
Classic example in the final where Peacock was wandering around taking a breather as Gallen ran straight passed him for JT's try.

I have seen Graham play many times both at Test level and for Saints, I think he is a good player. We have TV's here nowadays and recorders, not to mention computers.

Its all good Rooster we all have our opinions.

Can I ask why you keep swearing in your posts?

Young kids frequent this forums I am told, the swear filter is there for that reason, you seem to be intentionally bypassing it.

Lesser players than Graham have succeeded in the NRL including Australians.

Ryan Tandy won Grand Finals in the NRL. It's safe to say Ricky Bibey could cope with it.

I think plenty of people have said that about Great Britain/England over the Kiwi’s. Even as recently as the 2007 series that GB won, the British had the edge in fitness going into the last quarter

In my history of watching Great Britain/England play its a pretty straight forward formulae

If it was close going into last quarter against Australia, I would expect us to lose

If it was close going into last quarter against New Zealand, I would expect us to win

Whether this is confidence, concentration, professionalism or fitness is debatable but the latter would have helped

Jonesy, I had this debate on here a few years ago and I still stand by my word that there is next to no difference between the two countries in terms of conditioning ability (I disagree a bit with RB with regards to coaching methods), the simple fact is that the athletes that australia has to choose from are simply better. Thats it. I fail to see where all these smoke and mirrors comes from. Far bigger pool = better players: end of conversation.

If that's the case why don't the NRL teams dominate the World Club Challenge?

Because it's always played in England in February and Australian's aren't used to playing in those conditions and are typically less prepared than the SL side as the seasons are not aligned.

As above the world club challenge is bang in their pre season and the English teams are in their season.

Unfortunately they do Jonesy. That's the problem. They see that they lose at international level. They see that the NRL self-proclaims itself as the best RL comp in the world. They then believe that the coaching and conditioning must be superior and one of the contributory factors to that. They believe that and act on it, rather than realising it's all about the amount of talent that Australia continually has on offer. You can name dozens of australians that are superb players in the last 20 years. In GB we have nowhere near that many, You have great talent and always will.

Consider this. Do you believe that people like Brad Fittler was a great player because he was coached by Phil Gould or conditioned by Ronnie Palmer? Andrew Johns by Mal Reilly? Darren Lockyer was a superb players because of Wayne Bennett. Do you believe that the likes of Billy Slater was spotted because they were getting great coaching whilst playing at Norths Devils? Or Akuila Uate at Woy Woy Roosters. Or do you think these people and many others had great natural ability?

Also consider this comment from Wayne Bennett in 2006:- "Kelvin Giles set the benchmark when he joined the club in 1990 and we sustained that for 10 years"

Kelvin Giles won 2 prems with Brisbane and was also performance director for Canberra when they won a couple of premierships in the late 80s. He then went to the London Broncos and???

I understand why clubs in the UK do it. We pay good money to australian coaches, conditioners etc. to go to the UK. You'd have thought that in the last 30 years, we'd have learnt how to beat Australia with all these minds and their coaching, training techniques. I'm sorry, I don't buy it. My opinion is that we lose, because of the quality of the cattle. Not totally on how they're fed.

I know I am in a tiny minority and I appreciate that we won't agree on this, but it would be good if people in the UK stop harping on about how good the coaching and conditioning "must be" in Oz. This is a safe conclusion for our regular defeats and for me a bit of a cop out. Our players have been coached and conditioned by aussies for years at various clubs.


Apologies for swearing Jonesy. I used it in a run of the mill english expression. Will try and withhold future slang expressions containing profanities. And for those that don't know him, Kelvin Giles is English.

You can have all the talent in the world but you won't fulfill your potential without good coaching or if you do it will take longer. I understand your point and agree on the conditioning aspect, however the quality of coaching is better in Australia than it is in the UK simply because, as you've stated with players, there's more people doing it. Therefore by extending your logic it stands that the numbers participating are likely to increase innovation, expertise and quality. Conditioning is different because that's a skill that's tied to sports sciences rather than specifically to our sport.

Therefore, if you have better players and better coaches in your competition it's likely to generate a tougher fixture list, intensity etc., hence the in-built advantage the NRL offers RL countries with players in it.