Wade Graham
- Thread starter mr.sharkiee
- Start date
I'm happy with this. He's getting better and better as match fitness kicks in.
At a reasonable price hopefully.
common
Great White
Eh not seeing it with Wade anymore. Has moment, but far and away from what he once was. Not keen on the extension if it happens.
Western Sharkie
Jaws
I’m ok with this for the right price.
1 more season guiding the younger guys through and then off to France on a pay day deal.
Tiger Shark
Jaws
I wonder if the France thing will still be on.
He's going to be 32 by the end of next year, and if he's keen on coaching and assuming his media gigs continue he might want to stick around and go straight into some coaching. If he isn't already and the rumours of him coaching our WNRL team are true.
I'm OK with a one year deal, think we can do with his experience a bit longer with the young forwards coming through, but it does probably mean Tolman and Fifita dont stick around
Milkshark
Great White
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2012
- Messages
- 4,092
- Reaction score
- 236
Roccio then said Wade is interested in coaching so he thinks he might be looking at coaching the Sharks womens team.
Western Sharkie
Jaws
Cool.
wasn’t aware that he was keen on the WNRL coaching gig.
All the talk was he wanted a stint in France, but this works as well.
Milkman
Mullet
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2021
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 2
But he is a journalist and Wade hasn't actually said that himself
Riccio is a Sharks fan and generally more on the money with Sharks stuff than most journos.
But yeah, can't take it as fact until an announcement from the club or the champ himself.
His wifes visa status screws around a Catalans move quite a bit, he's obviously not prepared to leave her and the little kids while he goes to play, which is fair enough. If that was sorted I think they'd go next year.
Perhaps he plays out a year with us, provided he knows we are also doing him a favour and it is a team friendly deal I don't mind, and then goes to France to play a couple seasons.
But another option is he shifts into coaching the NRLW team and maybe doing a small role with Sharks to help with his development. And a few strings get pulled to find him an assistant job at Catalans for the year after, if they'd still like to live in France for a while. It seems to be a pretty good gig there.
He knows Pearce well, via Fitz Robbo would have good sway there still you'd think.
McNamara is current coach who had a reasonable stint as England coach and seems to be going decent at Catalans.
One of the assistants Bosc played nearly 250 games as a one club player for them and is French so he probably doesn't get shafted for Wade.
Their other assistant is a 1 game Sharks boy, Sam Moa, debuted with us same year Wade debuted with Penrith. No offence to Sam but he feels expendable if enough strings are pulled.
MrDravid
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2022
- Messages
- 986
- Reaction score
- 374
egg
Jaws
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2010
- Messages
- 12,047
- Reaction score
- 591
Western Sharkie
Jaws
Gards
Jaws
He isn't a liability - he is playing well. Seems some can't get past the age thing. Like Fifita he may never recapture his peak form or abiltiies in his younger days but their role has changed and they still have something to offer. We have dropped like what 1 game since Wade has been back?
**** it I love the old blokes, give Tolz, Fifs and Wade 5 year extensions now and would it kill us to put Robbo but in the rotation ffs - the bloke is a legend hair or no hair
**** it I love the old blokes, give Tolz, Fifs and Wade 5 year extensions now and would it kill us to put Robbo but in the rotation ffs - the bloke is a legend hair or no hair
If that's the case can we bring back Mcgaw? The man still looks like a beast
stormshark
Jaws
agree, end with the finals, slates clear both sides of the Ledger
egg
Jaws
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2010
- Messages
- 12,047
- Reaction score
- 591
Wade Story
Liam O'Loughlin
4 hours ago•7 min read
Getty Images
Cronulla Sharks captain Wade Graham's future is up in the air heading into 2023 - and it looks like he has three options.
The 31-year-old premiership-winner has been an incredible servant to the club and the game as a whole, playing over 270 NRL games, six Origins and eight Tests since debuting in 2008.
Lock it or Drop it Ep. 26
Pause
Next video
1:52 / 5:42
Full-screen
Once regarded as the best edge forward in the competition, Graham has struggled with injuries and concussions in recent years, but has been in solid form since returning in Round 8.
Graham's numbers however don't stack up against the elite second-rowers in the competition anymore, and with Cronulla investing plenty into the likes of Teig Wilton and Briton Nikora, they may look in a different direction.
That being said, Graham is still a respected figure and quality leader - and while he doesn't have a contract at this stage, he's still got the ambition to play on in 2023.
“I definitely want to play on,” Graham said before Round 22.
“I’ve had some discussions with the club and I'm comfortable with where we’re sitting at the moment.
“It’s not at the forefront of my priority list at the moment. There’s some important games coming up and a good opportunity in front of us, so that’s my priority.
“I’m comfortable with one year. You never know - if i get to this stage next year and am feeling good we’ll see how we go but i’m definitely just looking at one year at the moment”
Here's a look at Wade Graham's three options for 2023.
With the aforementioned Nikora and Wilton at the helm, the resurgent Sharks have an edge forward duo that will be there for many years to come.
But while they've also got Siosifa Talakai, who is capable of playing in the second-row, their second-row stocks are thin behind those three men and Talakai has shown how dominant he can be in the centres.
Graham would be a good player to have around the club for another year as they continue to transition into life under Craig Fitzgibbon and blood a slew of young guns.
But in terms of money and length of contract, it would be silly for Cronulla to offer him any more than a 12-month extension on $250,000 or $300,000.
However, Graham and Cronulla could potentially benefit from the NRL's Long Serving Player Allowance, which may help both parties reach a deal.
With the likes of Mitchell Pearce, Dylan Napa, Dean Whare and Sam Kasiano plying their trade over in the south of France, Graham would have plenty of familiar faces alongside him if he did make the move to the Dragons.
Perhaps not a well-known fact, but Graham's wife Karianne is French-Canadian, and the second-rower has said in the past they could move over to that side of the world post-career.
“I have had initial chats with Catalans,” Graham told News Corp earlier this year.
"They know I’m off contract and did ring me about a month ago. I told them it was in my future plans. It hasn’t progressed much further than that but it’s still on the cards.
“I manage myself so it would be good to go through the process and talk to them. At this stage, they have expressed interest and I have said it’s certainly a goal of mine at some stage of my career to head over there.”
There would likely be greater financial incentive for Graham if he moved to the Super League, as opposed to signing a low-money deal with the Sharks.
With so much experience at club and representative level, as well as a true understanding of the Sharks DNA after winning a title with them in 2016, he would be an ideal person to be involved with young players coming through.
Graham has also expressed a keen interest in coaching, following the recent signing of Benji Marshall with the Wests Tigers.
"I'm doing my accreditation now with Benji Marshall. He's already got a job. I might get him to hook me up and try to be one of his assistants over the years," he said in a recent media conference.
"This is what I know, so I'd just stick at it and hopefully be able to give the game back something after all these years of service.
"It's certainly an option. I do enjoy that part of the game.
Graham would be the perfect mentor for the likes of Wilton, Kade Dykes and Jesse Colquhon, who are all still in the formative stages of their NRL careers
Wade Graham's NRL future: Will the Cronulla Sharks captain re-sign for 2023?
Liam O'Loughlin
4 hours ago•7 min read
Getty Images
Cronulla Sharks captain Wade Graham's future is up in the air heading into 2023 - and it looks like he has three options.
The 31-year-old premiership-winner has been an incredible servant to the club and the game as a whole, playing over 270 NRL games, six Origins and eight Tests since debuting in 2008.
Lock it or Drop it Ep. 26
Pause
Next video
1:52 / 5:42
Full-screen
Once regarded as the best edge forward in the competition, Graham has struggled with injuries and concussions in recent years, but has been in solid form since returning in Round 8.
Graham's numbers however don't stack up against the elite second-rowers in the competition anymore, and with Cronulla investing plenty into the likes of Teig Wilton and Briton Nikora, they may look in a different direction.
That being said, Graham is still a respected figure and quality leader - and while he doesn't have a contract at this stage, he's still got the ambition to play on in 2023.
“I definitely want to play on,” Graham said before Round 22.
“I’ve had some discussions with the club and I'm comfortable with where we’re sitting at the moment.
“It’s not at the forefront of my priority list at the moment. There’s some important games coming up and a good opportunity in front of us, so that’s my priority.
“I’m comfortable with one year. You never know - if i get to this stage next year and am feeling good we’ll see how we go but i’m definitely just looking at one year at the moment”
Here's a look at Wade Graham's three options for 2023.
One-year deal with Cronulla
This seems to be the most likely option for now given Graham's recent comments, but there's no guarantee Cronulla will move to extend their skipper.With the aforementioned Nikora and Wilton at the helm, the resurgent Sharks have an edge forward duo that will be there for many years to come.
But while they've also got Siosifa Talakai, who is capable of playing in the second-row, their second-row stocks are thin behind those three men and Talakai has shown how dominant he can be in the centres.
Graham would be a good player to have around the club for another year as they continue to transition into life under Craig Fitzgibbon and blood a slew of young guns.
But in terms of money and length of contract, it would be silly for Cronulla to offer him any more than a 12-month extension on $250,000 or $300,000.
However, Graham and Cronulla could potentially benefit from the NRL's Long Serving Player Allowance, which may help both parties reach a deal.
Move to Catalans
With his desire to play on evident, Graham could also link up with some former NRL stars in the Super League for Catalans.With the likes of Mitchell Pearce, Dylan Napa, Dean Whare and Sam Kasiano plying their trade over in the south of France, Graham would have plenty of familiar faces alongside him if he did make the move to the Dragons.
Perhaps not a well-known fact, but Graham's wife Karianne is French-Canadian, and the second-rower has said in the past they could move over to that side of the world post-career.
“I have had initial chats with Catalans,” Graham told News Corp earlier this year.
"They know I’m off contract and did ring me about a month ago. I told them it was in my future plans. It hasn’t progressed much further than that but it’s still on the cards.
“I manage myself so it would be good to go through the process and talk to them. At this stage, they have expressed interest and I have said it’s certainly a goal of mine at some stage of my career to head over there.”
There would likely be greater financial incentive for Graham if he moved to the Super League, as opposed to signing a low-money deal with the Sharks.
Retire and land coaching role with Sharks
If Graham wanted to stay in the Shire but decided he didn't want to play on, there's no doubt the Sharks would be keen to keep him around in another capacity.With so much experience at club and representative level, as well as a true understanding of the Sharks DNA after winning a title with them in 2016, he would be an ideal person to be involved with young players coming through.
Graham has also expressed a keen interest in coaching, following the recent signing of Benji Marshall with the Wests Tigers.
"I'm doing my accreditation now with Benji Marshall. He's already got a job. I might get him to hook me up and try to be one of his assistants over the years," he said in a recent media conference.
"This is what I know, so I'd just stick at it and hopefully be able to give the game back something after all these years of service.
"It's certainly an option. I do enjoy that part of the game.
Graham would be the perfect mentor for the likes of Wilton, Kade Dykes and Jesse Colquhon, who are all still in the formative stages of their NRL careers