Why James Graham is rugby league’s version of Eric Cantona

JAMES Graham is one of league’s great players and characters and there’s more than a little bit of a Manchester United legend about him writes MATTHEW JOHNS.

Matthew Johns

4 min read

March 24, 2016 - 5:28PM

Shades of Man U great in Graham

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JAMES Graham is the world’s best rugby league forward.

No individual in the NRL does more for their football team than him. He is the heartbeat of the dogs, as important to Canterbury as Thurston is to North Queensland.

Graham provides the fire and emotion, is their chief playmaker and almost their sole creative force.

Despite his on-field indiscretions, Graham is still beloved by fans.

I can’t think of another footballer in my time in rugby league where it’s common for them to come off the field, leading the hit-ups, tackle count and try assists.

Graham arrived in the NRL in 2010 with plenty doubting his chances of establishing himself as a star.

He’s not a big man. Not fast. Doesn’t really have any footwork. And while he had earned a reputation as a ballplayer in England, the tighter and more aggressive defence lines in Australia would surely work him out quickly and make his want to use the football a liability, not a benefit.

It only took a few weeks for there to be no doubters, only admirers.

The greatest accolades one can receive in sport is respect from teammates and opponents. Graham’s teammates love him, and his opponents would love to play with him.

And fans love the bloke. Not just Bulldogs supporters, but fans of the game in general.

It’s a funny one, because James isn’t what you’d call a clean skin.

We all remember the little nibble he had on Billy Slater in the 2012 grand final, and last year’s meltdown in this very fixture, after being controversially penalised for a late hit on Adam Reynolds which gave Souths the victory.

The hooked forefinger, the screaming at officials, it was all going on.

Some players don’t live that down and are permanently placed in the bad boy box their entire careers, but not Graham.

Cantona was notorious for kicking a Crystal Palace fan after being sent off in 1995.

Neither incident has dented his reputation or eroded the respect he demands.

It’s a bit like Eric Cantona, the Manchester United legend.

In January 1995, after being red-carded against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, Cantona reacted to abuse from an opposition fan by leaping over the fence and kung-fu kicking the guy before landing a quick combination of rapid fire punches into the heckler.

Cantona was suspended for eight months, sentenced to 120 hours community service and painted as one of the greatest villains in sport’s history.

Yet Cantona returned and was admired like never before.

People looked back at the kung-fu kick as passion spilt over. Fans loved him for his complexity of character. A genius, capable of the very best and worst.

Graham symbolises what rugby league purists admire and look for in their hard men.

Granite tough, uncompromising, yet extremely likeable. The imperfections, the element of danger, knowing his passion could spill over any second, adds to the package. Graham is a character; he makes rugby league more interesting.

There’s been so many great English players come to Australia. They, like Graham, all made the Australian game better.

Graham is one of the best Englishmen ever to play in the NRL.

Ellery Hanley’s genius driving Balmain to the 1988 grand final. Kevin Ward’s grand final performance for Manly in 1987 after stepping off a plane from England 24 hours earlier.

The try scoring ability of Gary Schofield, the surprise packet Andy Courier, the cheeky Tommy Bishop, the man who gave the Roosters steel, Adrian Morley, and of course Graham’s archrival, the Bunnies’ grand final inspiration Sam Burgess.

But if you’re looking to draw comparisons with Graham, look no further than the greatest English import of them all, Manly’s Malcolm Reilly.

James Graham is Reilly’s clone. Reilly was a ball-playing genius but horrendously tough, as well as vicious.

Manly’s Ken Arthurson brought Reilly to Australia in 1972 in the hope of him being the final piece to the puzzle in the Sea Eagles winning their first premiership.

They won in Reilly’s very first year and went back to back in ’73.

Reilly was feared as much as he was admired, and like Graham had his fair share of controversies.

During his time as coach of the Newcastle Knights he told me a story about his relationship with the Australian media in his playing days.

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After a number of send offs, Sydney’s Daily Mirror newspaper began referring to Reilly as “The Monster”.

Malcolm hated it. In fact he hated it so much he refused to speak to the paper and their chief league writer Bill Mordey.

In 1974 Reilly and his wife, Sue, had their first baby, a son, Glen. Bill Mordey got in touch with Ken Arthurson to ask whether Reilly would consider posing for a photo in the paper with his wife and newborn son.

“Arko” encouraged Reilly to accept, saying it would be good for his image and would help mend the relationship with the Mirror newspaper.