Official Wade Graham

[snowman]

i heard he has been majority at 5/8 ben, but i would say he has had some time at half

 

[Jimako]

I spoke with Wade at the fan day & asked him that question do you mind where you play either half of 5/8 because you & Albert need to start & he said don't care played both as a junior & there's not much difference & he sort of agreed about Albert playing with him.

 

[Mark^Bastard]

Haha, that's music to my ears.

 

[Henchmann]

I don’t think Wade Graham was ready to play last Sunday; he looked like he didn’t want to be there? And way out of his depth. A far cry from the confident kid I saw play against the Sharks late last year. Anyone know if he was carrying an injury? Any thoughts?

 

[CrazyMatt]

I think we should just write off that game for Wade. Better for the run, give him a couple of games before we judge him.

 

[Shipwreck]

I don’t think Wade Graham was ready to play last Sunday; he looked like he didn’t want to be there? And way out of his depth. A far cry from the confident kid I saw play against the Sharks late last year. Anyone know if he was carrying an injury? Any thoughts?

Picked up an injury before the trials i thought so needs alittle more time as does AK

 

[Henchmann]

Yeah I dont want to write him off at all, I just think he looked dead set scared at times. It was painful to watch.

 

[SharkLabelSociety]

I think the general lousiness of the rest of the team rubbed off on him.

 

[Ramzyv1]

I think the general lousiness of the rest of the team rubbed off on him.

Agreed. It has been said alot already but when your team drops the ball consistently before tackle 3 there isn't much you can do as a half, especially when the score was starting to pile up.

 

[Capital_Shark]

What he did do I thought he did well enough. He just didn't do much, which wasn't all his fault. No one did much.

His long kicking game coupled with AK's short game, from the tiny glimpses we got on Sunday (blink and you'll miss it stuff) looks promising. Wade's first long kick that sat in the corner you couldn't ask for a much better kick to finish off an opening set. That, coupled with a good kick chase, is the sort of stuff that turns an average set into a ripper and turns the pressure back on the opposition.

 

[snowman]

spot on cap.
wasnt that the kick that lead to the penalty on fergo after....?

 

[Capital_Shark]

spot on cap.
wasnt that the kick that lead to the penalty on fergo after....?

Yeah pretty sure it was. Everything about that play was spot on; kick sat down and required the winger to turn and chase, our chase was all over him.. just went to pot when Gal got a little carried away in the tackle.

Raiders had no one back either we would of pinned them down and had them kicking out of their own 40.

Ahhh.. what could of been. Such a shame.

 

[andrew's_sharks]

spot on cap.
wasnt that the kick that lead to the penalty on fergo after....?

Yep it sure was. A wonderful piece of work wasted by a lack of discipline, without even seeing fergo get hurt. If he broke a bone or tore his acl then it may have been a descent penalty lol

 

[snowman]

yeh milne got the ball, fergo scooted from dummy half, 2nd tackle they were inside the 10 and would of struggled to get out.

thought it was a spot on kick as well, wade just needs to do it consistantly

his long kicking game, and kelly's short attacking kicking game will compliment each other nicely

 

[A.Snowden]

Don't worry about Graham, if we can hold on to the ball long enough, a Graham and Kelly combo will hopefully last the whole season. What they did do when they had the chances was right on the money.

 

[Mark^Bastard]

I just re-watched the first half of that game and yeah I agree for sure. So far in the first half the Sharks haven't done HEAPS wrong. Not as much as I previously remembered. This is how it went done:
-Some offloads didn't stick. They were on, but just didn't happen. E.g. J. Smith to Gards.
-Gallen made some stupid errors.
-Gave away penalties at crucial times e.g. the one mentioned above.
-The left side defence of Wright and Best. Best and Wright both screwed up a bomb that lead directly to tries. There was another one that was sort of a bit of luck to Canberra and just one of those things.
- The right side defence let in a try that they probably should have defended, but they at least had a decent go at it. I believe Collis went round the legs and Williams over the top but it just didn't work out. Not the end of the world.
- There was that disallowed try. I can't see a forward pass anywhere. We were unlucky to not be 12-nil at the start, then if there's no penalty after Graham's kick and we pin them down there maybe things would be different.

So yeah it was a cluster**** but I still reckon we have a team that is capable. I just really hope the mental outcomes of the game go on to ruin some more games. It's a tough run at the start of this season. Dragons almost seem unbeatable by our squad, but then we've got Penrith. They'll aim up for us for sure, they'll be thinking what we're thinking, a chance to get a much needed W.

 

[CrazyMatt]

If we keep losing games, how long do you guys reckon Flanno stick with a Graham/Kelly combo. I would like to see him persist, definatly will benefit in the future.

 

[Beejay]

If we keep losing games, how long do you guys reckon Flanno stick with a Graham/Kelly combo. I would like to see him persist, definatly will benefit in the future.

I don't want to think about that, I am confident that that combination will start to click and start to win us games. It only has been one game don't forget.

 

[WillyInBris]

If we keep losing games, how long do you guys reckon Flanno stick with a Graham/Kelly combo. I would like to see him persist, definatly will benefit in the future.

I don't want to think about that, I am confident that that combination will start to click and start to win us games. It only has been one game don't forget.

Yep I would hate to see the chopping and changing crap of the past years that would really cruel us for the future I want results just like anyone else but I would rather set up the future this season then make the eight and get thrashed or something.

 

[Sharkie73]

Sharks' Graham, Kelly ignore the pressure

Sharks' Graham, Kelly ignore the pressure
By Ben Horne
Mar 29, 2011 - 7:46 PM

Cronulla halves Wade Graham and Albert Kelly understood they'd be the difference between whether their side surprised or bombed this NRL season.

The game's youngest No.6 and 7 combination were aware that the Sharks hopes of proving the critics wrong rested on their inexperienced and unheralded shoulders.

However, it's clear they're not really feeling the pressure and so far they're doing the job.

Cronulla's forward pack is amongst the strongest in the league without question, but translating their dominance up front into wins was always going to come down to Graham and Kelly's ability to run the side.

"My halves are the key I think," admits coach, Shane Flanagan.

"If they can develop and get us around the park and kick well, I think we'll be in a lot of our games."

That's fair expectation on a twenty-year-old Graham and 19-year-old Kelly who had barely trained together before round one.

The pair played one match for a NSW under 18s team a couple of years back, but after Graham missed six weeks of the pre-season with a hamstring injury, Cronulla's round one hiding at the hands of Canberra was their first real chance to test their combination.

The magnitude of the Raiders' loss would have decimated the confidence of most young playmakers.

But in Graham and Kelly, Flanagan knows he's found a duo who believe in themselves.

Kelly copped a panning for errors he made at fullback in his debut season last year, yet has shrugged that off in less than 12 months to play brilliant and mistake-free football the past two weeks.

Penrith junior Graham has dealt with comparisons to Brad Fittler since he was 15, and has continued to develop his game despite being up and down from first grade in his rookie years at the Panthers.

Graham believes he and Kelly can keep the Sharks in the top eight.

"There comes a little bit of pressure but I think it makes it a lot easier with the guys (in the forwards), you know what you're going to get," said Graham.

"Obviously we're going to have a few teething problems here ... but hopefully it can only get better. Alby's a great player and you've seen a bit of what he can do."

Built like a backrower, Graham is a strong runner of the ball, while Kelly has proven his ability to create something out of nothing.

Graham says their combination has all the right ingredients, but its long-term success will come down to persistence.

"I think we do suit each other," he said.

"Albert's more of an instinct player, he plays what he sees, and I take the role of being the steady one and let him do his own thing.

"We're both young, we both get along really well which always helps, and ... we (can't) be complacent."

Meanwhile the Sharks admit they've taken a risk by moving their NRL clash with the Warriors on Sunday from the Shire to Taupo, New Zealand.

Bad weather has contributed to some low crowds at Toyota Stadium when the Sharks have hosted the Warriors in recent seasons.

As a result a financial decision was made by the club to take the round four match to Taupo, a town which is about three hours south of the Warriors' base in Auckland.

link; http://www.nrl.com/sharks-graham,-kelly-ignore-the-pressure/tabid/10874/newsid/61986/default.aspx

These 2 will only get better as the season goes on.