Sharks skipper Wade Graham tears up before 250th NRL game against Raiders

NRL stars are usually pretty good at keeping their emotions in check but Wade Graham has clearly been touched by a special moment.

Cronulla Sharks skipper Wade Graham has been left in tears after an emotional gesture from the club to celebrate his 250th game.

Graham, who started with the Panthers as a 17-year-old half, moved to the Sharks in 2010 with a desire to play more NRL football.

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Since joining the Sharks, he quickly developed into one of the best and most respected forwards in the game, playing for NSW and Australia and winning a premiership in 2016 for Cronulla.

Graham was presented a commemorative jersey pre-game for his milestone match with his mum Debbie and dad Mark in the dressing rooms for the presentation.

The forward was emotional, clearly holding back tears as his teammates and the Sharks staff clapped while he got a hug from each of his parents.

Fox League commentator Steve Roach said he wasn’t surprised by the outpouring of emotion from the Sharks star.

“That’s how he plays, with emotion,” Roach said. “I like him. 250 games, that’s not a lot off the bench, so he’s played a bulk of the 80 minutes week in week out. If I was picking a team over the last 20 years, he’d be in my 17. I love the way he plays. I reckon he’s highly underrated.”

Graham with his dad Mark.

Graham hugging his mum Debbie.

Graham also had a banner up for him to run through and he was the last man out as his team formed a guard of honour as he and his sons William and Thomas in his arms.

He had to kick through the banner.

“This is respect,” Roach said. “He’s the type of player the everyone loves to play with. Good on him. What about these scenes.”

Graham

“It’s been good, the club’s done a great job,” he said. “A lot of messages of support and congratulations and I have all my family today, so it’s been a good week.”

Graham said it was special to get his jersey from his parents because “they’ve been there since the very beginning” while running out with his sons was the first time he’d done it.”

Wade Graham wipes away a tear.

The esteem the star is held in was clear with even Raiders coach Ricky Stuart praising the Graham before the match.

“It’s a wonderful milestone for any player to play in the NRL let alone 250 games,” Stuart said. “He’s a threat, he’s a real danger Wade Graham on any football team he plays for. I’ve seen him win Origin games for us before, I’ve seen him win Grand Finals for his club and he just looks like one of those players coaches love to coach. He just seems like a real team person. I hope he doesn’t have all the joy today but it’s a great milestone for him.”

Well done Wade Graham. Wonderful career. Have a great day. Hopefully the boys lift to get a win on your big day. https://t.co/5PmgTQAmdN

— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) March 21, 2021

The game didn’t quite go as planned with the Raiders racing out to a 12-0 lead at the break, having dominated possession 59 per cent to 41.

But the Sharks came back strong, making it 12-10 with eight minutes to play.

However, the game came down to halfback Chad Townsend’s boot, missing the conversion of Josh Dugan’s 72nd minute try from the sideline.

He was given another chance with just over a minute to go but again shanked a kick near the sideline that cost the Sharks a shot at a golden point comeback.

Originally published as Sharks skipper Wade Graham tears up before 250th NRL game against Raiders