Cloud over Graham’s future at Dragons
St George Illawarra officials “won’t rule anything out” when they kickstart contract talks with prop James Graham.
St George Illawarra officials “won’t rule anything out” when they kickstart contract talks with prop James Graham in the coming weeks, including the prospect of him returning to England.
Dragons recruitment officer Ian Millward confirmed the club wants to talk to Graham to discover his thoughts on his future.
The 34-year-old English international is yet to decide if he will continue his stellar career.
Add in uncertainty around the 2021 salary cap and the Dragons want to be as proactive as they can on the player-retention front.
“At the appropriate time we want to sit down with James and take his thoughts and considerations,” Millward told The Weekend Australian.
“He might turn to us and say, ‘I’d like to spend my last two years in England to finish up my career’.
“I don’t think you can rule anything out, but it is something that will be raised sooner rather than later.”
Graham took up an option in his favour for this season, but Millward said Graham wanted to consider several key factors before committing to another deal.
“We had to see how James’ body was going,” he said.
“He also copped a couple of head knocks in the international games and we wanted to see how he felt.
“But we had two games and then suddenly we went into lockdown. We never got to see how the players could benefit from a good pre-season and where everyone was at, but it will all take care of itself. (James’ future) is something that we haven’t made a definitive decision on, but we will be talking about it over the next month and a half.”
Millward has a personal connection with Graham dating back years. He handed him his first-grade debut in 2003 while coaching St Helens in the English Super League.
“I’ve known him for a long time and James is a pretty uncomplicated kind of guy,” he said.
“He hasn’t been banging on our door asking what is happening.”
Millward is proud of Graham as a player and person.
“I spoke at a Dragons function about James and one of the things that made me feel so good was that from an 18-year-old kid at St Helens to now, he hasn’t changed,” he said.
“He is still the same guy. A lot of people can change when they move to another country or have a profile, but he is still the same person in my mind.
“He loves a chat and he loves rugby league — he has a real passion for the sport.”
Graham joined the NRL in 2012 and played 147 matches for the Bulldogs before switching to the Dragons in 2018.
The Daily Telegraph
The dark horse contender for NRL’s buy of the year
The player market frenzy has set-up a hotly contested field for ‘buy of the year’ honours, and former NRL star Mitchell Pearce is tipping a surprise contender to win the crown. See who is in the running and have your say.
‘I dug my heels in’: The Bronco who refused to walk away
On the outer with former coach Kevin Walters, Cory Paix was told he was free to leave the Broncos, but the nuggety rake refused to walk, and now under a new coach his 526-day NRL exile looks set to end.