Official Wade Graham

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He hasn't been jumped in our pecking order by two guys in NSW Cup because he's too big or too small though, or not strong enough.

I would think it is because he hasn't been able to convert dominance against other kids his age into noteworthy impact at Cup level.
Yeah I agree.
 
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Cronulla star hails 'leader' Wade Graham as his future remains uncertain​

Wade Graham's leadership qualities praised​

The Cronulla captain has had a difficult campaign so far, as injury issues have restricted him to just seven appearances. Although, when he has made it onto the field, Cronulla have won five of those games.

McInnes claimed this was no coincidence, after praising Graham’s overall impact around the club.

“He just nails it. He says the right thing at the right time,” the former Dragons No.9 said.

“We’re blessed to have so many leaders, but when 'Wado' talks everyone listens because he just gets it right.

“He’s so smart and I’ve really learnt a lot off him…It’s been really cool to see how he operates,” he added.

Speculation surrounds Graham's future at Cronulla​

The club's attempts to balance their roster have thrown Graham's future in the Shire into doubt. The likely re-signings of Briton Nikora and Matt Moylanare high on the agenda and the veteran may find himself squeezed out when his contract comes to an end.

The 31-year-old has failed to make 20 appearances in each of his past four campaigns, while he also looks set to miss that mark again this year.

The skipper, who took over from Paul Gallen at the beginning of the 2020 season, is reportedly keen on a new deal. Yet the club is currently facing significant salary cap pressure, with a host of talented youngsters coming off contract around the same time.

One of those youngsters who has been tied down by the Sharks is New Zealand representative Ronaldo Mulitalo. And McInnes was effusive in his praise of the flyer, who currently leads the competition for linebreaks and ranks inside the top ten for tries this season.

“He is such a huge character, the fans love him and he’s just got such an infectious personality,” McInnes enthused.

“Playing against him in the past, he’s cheeky on the field. He talks a lot, but he backs it up.

“Around the group and in the community, he has such a presence.

“He’s only young and he’s still learning, but he leads with his actions…He’s a good, young leader coming through.”

Craig Fitzgibbon impressing as a first-year head coach​

The Sharks are currently in a great run of form – winning their last three matches – after previously struggling for consistency.

Yet McInnes was bullish in the levels of improvement he still expected to see from his teammates, as the business end of the season comes into view.

“We are still nowhere near where we know we can be,” he said.

In his first year as a head coach, Craig Fitzgibbon has aided the defensive quality of the side. This drew praise from the experienced McInnes, who also detailed how the calm demeanour of the coach rubbed off on his players.

“He’s so detailed and I’ve learnt so much from him,” he said.

“He’s all about defence, which I resonate with...On game day, he hides it really well- he’s definitely not as relaxed as he shows.

“He’s calm with his messages and as a team, that is what you want. He’s been outstanding so far.”
 

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Gards

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Wade can make 20 games for the year if we get through to week 2-3 of the finals, assuming he plays every game from here on out ofcourse

McInnes is echoing the sentiment Woodys had about Wade - not that you would badmouth your captain and say they are a poor leader

Fitz not relaxed on game day but trys to hide it - yep that some up what us fans see of him in the box
 
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apezza

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Fitz not relaxed on game day but trys to hide it - yep that some up what us fans see of him in the box
That's ok. We will break him.

Fitz will be screaming from the box and talking back to jurnos in the press conference before you know it.

Welcome to the Sharks. You've just been Cronullafied!
 

puma1355

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i think we should re-sign him next year- issue is how much - $350k
 

creg

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1 year at $250k. He could get more at Dolphins or Super League, and probably deserves it.
 

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i think we should re-sign him next year- issue is how much - $350k
I love that he’s not being used all game and Wilton is getting his runs.. it’s working.

Threw a little comment to Fitz in the press conference about how he was sitting on the bench when smith got sent off, you can tell he doesn’t like it
 

Capital_Shark

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Looked heaps better tonight. If he can stay uninterrupted and keep warming well I don't need to tell you blokes how good a firing Wade would be come finals.
 

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Had a decent game last night. However he was still no world beater and didn’t outperform any of his younger improving team mates.

Has averaged in his 8 games -
69 running metres
23 tackles

That is below average surely. Not too mention has been injured for 1/2 of his nrl games over the last 3.5 years, the ones he has played havent been great either.

He will be 32.5 before next season starts and will be even more likely to get injuries as he ages.

Bringing him in next season to be injured 1/2, average 1/4 will mean 6 games where he will hopefully be good….

Given injuries, concussions, aging and general average form really hoping he isn’t re-signed….

It feels like it’s becoming a guilt trip and sympathy signing….

The sharkies have done the right thing by not applying pressure for medical retirement despite the concussion concerns. But a new contract is a completely different ballgame.
 
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The Punisher

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Had a decent game last night. However he was still no world beater and didn’t outperform any of his younger improving team mates
Id go as far as to say he was the worst on field for us.
Thats not saying he was bad or that he did anyrhing wrong, but that he was aversge whilst everyone else aimed and stepped up
 

andrew's_sharks

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Had a decent game last night. However he was still no world beater and didn’t outperform any of his younger improving team mates.

Has averaged in his 8 games -
69 running metres
23 tackles

That is below average surely. Not too mention has been injured for 1/2 of his nrl games over the last 3.5 years, the ones he has played havent been great either.

He will be 32.5 before next season starts and will be even more likely to get injuries as he ages.

Bringing him in next season to be injured 1/2, average 1/4 will mean 6 games where he will hopefully be good….

Given injuries, concussions, aging and general average form really hoping he isn’t re-signed….

It feels like it’s becoming a guilt trip and sympathy signing….

The sharkies have done the right thing by not applying pressure for medical retirement despite the concussion concerns. But a new contract is a completely different ballgame.
Although I agree that his numbers are nothing amazing. If you look back through his career he has never really been a meter eater and always missed a couple tackles. It is his on field talk and creativity (this has been hard as he hasn't been able to string a lot of games together) that were his best strengths.
 

Gumby

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Yeah but he isn’t creating **** out there. He’s a passenger plain and simple.

Time to accept the fact this bloke won’t be what he used to be and move on.
 

BurgoShark

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Had a decent game last night. However he was still no world beater and didn’t outperform any of his younger improving team mates.

Has averaged in his 8 games -
69 running metres
23 tackles

That is below average surely. Not too mention has been injured for 1/2 of his nrl games over the last 3.5 years, the ones he has played havent been great either.

He will be 32.5 before next season starts and will be even more likely to get injuries as he ages.

Bringing him in next season to be injured 1/2, average 1/4 will mean 6 games where he will hopefully be good….

Given injuries, concussions, aging and general average form really hoping he isn’t re-signed….

It feels like it’s becoming a guilt trip and sympathy signing….

The sharkies have done the right thing by not applying pressure for medical retirement despite the concussion concerns. But a new contract is a completely different ballgame.
You can’t use per game averages for a bloke who hasn’t been playing 80 minutes, especially when in 2 of them he came off the bench and played less than 30.

Last 4 games…

34 tackles in 51 minutes
25 tackles in 51 minutes
27 tackles in 46 minutes
22 tackles in 44 minutes

That’s pretty good in terms of work rate.
 

Blix

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You can’t use per game averages for a bloke who hasn’t been playing 80 minutes, especially when in 2 of them he came off the bench and played less than 30.

Last 4 games…

34 tackles in 51 minutes
25 tackles in 51 minutes
27 tackles in 46 minutes
22 tackles in 44 minutes

That’s pretty good in terms of work rate.
I don’t agree….it’s an average over a large span of time. You can’t pick cherry pick the last 4 games as a fair indication, he is rarely fully fit over the last 4 years. Last year he only averaged 26.
 

snowman

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Had a decent game last night. However he was still no world beater and didn’t outperform any of his younger improving team mates.

Has averaged in his 8 games -
69 running metres
23 tackles

That is below average surely. Not too mention has been injured for 1/2 of his nrl games over the last 3.5 years, the ones he has played havent been great either.

He will be 32.5 before next season starts and will be even more likely to get injuries as he ages.

Bringing him in next season to be injured 1/2, average 1/4 will mean 6 games where he will hopefully be good….

Given injuries, concussions, aging and general average form really hoping he isn’t re-signed….

It feels like it’s becoming a guilt trip and sympathy signing….

The sharkies have done the right thing by not applying pressure for medical retirement despite the concussion concerns. But a new contract is a completely different ballgame.
agreed, cant let nostalgia get in the way

he and fifita cant be re-signed
 

Sparkles

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agreed, cant let nostalgia get in the way

he and fifita cant be re-signed
You blokes need to add a little grey to the palette.
I'll happily admit that Fitz and Fifita has proved me wrong about Fif playing this year. Not because he's amazing but because we've found the perfect role to give the most benefit to the team. The question isn't if he and Wade should stay or go, it's what role could they fill and add value. Fif's... I tend to think he's better off heading OS while he can. Wade, I'm almost positive now that he has value next year, from a playing and leadership perspective. Just in a smaller on field role and most likely in the middle.
 

bort

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His good form now doesn't make me regret wishing he would move to England three years ago and free up the massive amount of cap space he was using up.

But I'm bloody glad he will (hopefully) be able to go out with a bit of dignity. Even if he did go around again on the cheap and faded a bit at least a retirement wouldn't be on the back of being one of the highest paid props in the game who was lucky to get a run if we had three or four injuries and was becoming a laughing stock around the league.

You can see the body doesn't always wanna keep up with him but he is proving his willpower to keep getting something out of it (at an NRL level)
 
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