Official Wade Graham

BurgoShark

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Tell ya what if the 6 again rule had come in when wade was 19-20, he woulda stayed a lock and probably been the best player in the game.
He was a half at that age. Didn’t start playing regularly in the back row until 22.

Personally I think there was a short period when he was a top 10-15 player in the game. 2018 comes to mind as a particularly good year, but that form started a few years earlier.
 
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He was a half at that age. Didn’t start playing regularly in the back row until 22.

Personally I think there was a short period when he was a top 10-15 player in the game. 2018 comes to mind as a particularly good year, but that form started a few years earlier.
There was a few years he deserved Cordner's origin jersey, and probably would have gotten it if it wasn't for Boyd being captain.
 

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There was a few years he deserved Cordner's origin jersey, and probably would have gotten it if it wasn't for Boyd being captain.
Yeah. They went quite a few years there where rep teams would only select players in their specific slots. They’d almost never pick a half, centre, or back rower on their opposite side. They’ve gone back now to picking the best 17 players and making them fit.
 
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He was a half at that age. Didn’t start playing regularly in the back row until 22.

Personally I think there was a short period when he was a top 10-15 player in the game. 2018 comes to mind as a particularly good year, but that form started a few years earlier.
Im referring to his development. He woulda moved from the halves to lock and probsbly stayed there. Probably wouldnt have ended up at Cronulla that being said.

I remember the night they played the Broncs during origin (2013 maybe) and Graham was just smashin blokes all over the park
 

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Im referring to his development. He woulda moved from the halves to lock and probsbly stayed there. Probably wouldnt have ended up at Cronulla that being said.

I remember the night they played the Broncs during origin (2013 maybe) and Graham was just smashin blokes all over the park
Maybe. That era was peak “lock is a third prop” time. Who knows what a rule change back then might have done.

I think fans and the media over-state the difference the 6-again rule has made to the actual style of play. It’s a few extra minutes of ball in play (mostly because of less penalty kicks) and less rest for try line defence. The trend back to ball-playing locks had already started prior to Covid. Watch Radley, de Belin or Jurbo play from 2019.
 

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Nah , Captaincy to win premierships is about team leadership , not fan popularity or marketing dept. preference. For me Finucane to take over when Wade steps aside with McInnes as VC .
Hynes is a leader, leaves everything on the field, plus its a bonus he's on for the full 80. I also like that he's shown his disappointment and takes ownership, admits whats needed to improve on with his individual performances and also with the team, willing to work on what's needed. It would also be an extra incentive to get him to re-sign longer
 
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Maybe. That era was peak “lock is a third prop” time. Who knows what a rule change back then might have done.

I think fans and the media over-state the difference the 6-again rule has made to the actual style of play. It’s a few extra minutes of ball in play (mostly because of less penalty kicks) and less rest for try line defence. The trend back to ball-playing locks had already started prior to Covid. Watch Radley, de Belin or Jurbo play from 2019.
Yeah im talking more that mould of Lock that guys like Greg Bird were made in. The former half that outgrew his position. Wade was the same. The late 00s and 10s, lock was a 3rd prop but the game was so ****ing slow. With it sped up, which it is, its not overstated, a ball playing lock like prime bird is early 20s wade would have been massive
 

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Yeah im talking more that mould of Lock that guys like Greg Bird were made in. The former half that outgrew his position. Wade was the same. The late 00s and 10s, lock was a 3rd prop but the game was so ****ing slow. With it sped up, which it is, its not overstated, a ball playing lock like prime bird is early 20s wade would have been massive
I agree with what you are saying here. Half that outgrew the position and moved to 13 could have been a difference-maker.

The notation that the game is actually "faster" has been well and truly debunked though. It was just a con-job by the NRL.

There was a massive peak for "ball in play" time during the first 6-10 weeks after Covid, which created the perception of more footy being played and therefore we must be doing stuff faster- but it came back down by the end of the year. Each year we get these same peaks of ball in play at the back end of each year and during the finals, when the refs put their whistles away, which again creates the same perception. You get more "football being played" because there are less stoppages. For every 6-again you get 20-30 seconds of game time instead of a stoppage - or more if the attacking team could have taken the 2.

Mapped across the eras you referred to, the game is not faster in any measurable way. It some ways it is measurably slower. E.g. Scrums take 3x as long these days as they did in the 90's and early 2000's, and the average play the ball speed for the last 3 seasons has been slightly slower than it was in 2018.
 

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Not to mention the captain’s challenge + the bunker intervening every 5-10 mins
 

Gards

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Wade was damaging on that left edge in his prime though too with his running, passing and kicking game and his aggressive defense. Dunno if that would have been made up benefit wise with him playing at lock, he wouldn't have been able to use that kicking game as much for instance and those grubbers were a big advantage he had over most other second rowers.

I think second row was a good compromise for him between a ball playing half and a running forward.

Plus we already had Gal who was an animal in the 13

Greg Bird was a freakish good player, skills and tough as an unbreakable plastic cup, was very hard to handle and you like Gal you couldn't intimidate him.

If that Brisbane game is the same one I am thinking of in 2013 it was the one where Wade put a monster hit on a brissy player in the brisbane in goal. ball is dropped and we claim a try. but ref penalized Wade saying was high, might have been a bit of shoulder or head in it from Wade but at the time it looked a great hit and we called bs

Wade was full kamikaze that game, was belting blokes back then
 

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Wade was damaging on that left edge in his prime though too with his running, passing and kicking game and his aggressive defense. Dunno if that would have been made up benefit wise with him playing at lock, he wouldn't have been able to use that kicking game as much for instance and those grubbers were a big advantage he had over most other second rowers.

I think second row was a good compromise for him between a ball playing half and a running forward.

Plus we already had Gal who was an animal in the 13

Greg Bird was a freakish good player, skills and tough as an unbreakable plastic cup, was very hard to handle and you like Gal you couldn't intimidate him.

If that Brisbane game is the same one I am thinking of in 2013 it was the one where Wade put a monster hit on a brissy player in the brisbane in goal. ball is dropped and we claim a try. but ref penalized Wade saying was high, might have been a bit of shoulder or head in it from Wade but at the time it looked a great hit and we called bs

Wade was full kamikaze that game, was belting blokes back then
I was at that game. It was when all that shoulder charge talk was happening just before it got banned. I think it was Hoffman who he smashed… a few times.
 

Sparkles

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Wade was a very good player, no denying it. But I can't for the life of me think of one real stand out moment. What's yours?
 

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Wade was a very good player, no denying it. But I can't for the life of me think of one real stand out moment. What's yours?
The one Gards mentioned is a good one. Another is the blinder he had coming back from injury. Played one game and was called into the blues side. Him in the nines stands out for me too. He lad a lethal combo with the fox. His boot and passing really stood out with a speedster outside him.

Not here to paint a picture of his career though.
 

Blix

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Wouldn’t take too long to summarise the last 5 years that’s for sure.
 

Sparkles

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The one Gards mentioned is a good one. Another is the blinder he had coming back from injury. Played one game and was called into the blues side. Him in the nines stands out for me too. He lad a lethal combo with the fox. His boot and passing really stood out with a speedster outside him.

Not here to paint a picture of his career though.
That origin game was pretty special
 

Super Impose

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The one Gards mentioned is a good one. Another is the blinder he had coming back from injury. Played one game and was called into the blues side. Him in the nines stands out for me too. He lad a lethal combo with the fox. His boot and passing really stood out with a speedster outside him.

Not here to paint a picture of his career though.
He cut Parra to shreds in his comeback game and was very influential in an origin game soon after that’s for sure ..
 
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