James Graham: Saints legend on his Super League return
20 Aug 2020
I think it is easy to take things for granted as you go through life. It’s been a tough period for everyone, and many people have lost their lives.
We have all had to make adjustments and sacrifices to how we are living life at the minute. Sport and rugby league are no different.
Our sport was taken away from us for five months because of the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s great that Super League is now back, and we need to treasure being back playing the game we love.
I don’t think that is lost on anyone.
It’s certainly strange to be playing at these unprecedented times. I would be surprised if anyone could have predicted we would ever be playing rugby league during a global pandemic.
But that’s the hand we have been dealt, and we need to adapt to the best of our abilities.
Returning to Saints
I never had an exact plan that I would come back to Saints. When I left for Australia, my sole aim at the time was to give it my best shot out there and see how things played out.
But the opportunity arose to come back, accelerated by Luke Thompson leaving for Canterbury, and here I am. I had heard a lot about Kristian Woolf before and was impressed speaking to him on the phone while I was still in Australia.
Leaving the Dragons was tough, and I did so with a heavy heart, but they knew my reasons.
I am very fortunate to come back here and finish where it all began, albeit perhaps not in the circumstances I’d expected.
Try for Saints, It's James Graham!!!@Saints1890 v Rhinos on @SkySportsRL Arena #SLLeeStH #SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/BnCBoBlZcI
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) August 9, 2020
Behind-closed-doors rugby league
No fans in the stadium is a new experience - but it doesn’t change things too much for players.
Most of the time you are caught up in the here and now and focusing on performing well in the moment, so you don’t notice it as much.
There are three moments: running out of the tunnel, a long break in play and when a try is scored. That is when I notice the crowd not being in the stadium. Usually, during those periods, you’d expect to hear cheering from terraces or the chatter from around the ground.
I just hope at some stage we can get back to playing in front of fans. It will be really special for me to play in front of the Saints fans again and hopefully it can happen later this year!
Six-again and no scrums
It’s not just off the pitch where things are different. There are a couple of by-products of the new rules in terms of how hard it can get at times.
You have to keep things as simple as possible and not give away silly penalties because you will have to work that much harder to keep the opposition from scoring.
Scrums were often an opportunity to rest, and they have been removed as well; however, that’s what the powers that be have decided to keep us safe on the rugby field, and that has to be the priority.
I think most clubs will still be working out how to get the best out of the change. We have certainly not mastered things by any stretch of the imagination.
Alex Walmsley
It definitely helps playing alongside a quality operator like Alex Walmsley.
He has been one of the best front row forwards in the world for a long time. I think the break has done him the power of good and he’s come back refreshed and put in three excellent performances.
I’ve tackled him a few times in training and it’s definitely better playing with him, rather than against him.
Saints’ first three games back
The quality in Super League is as high as it ever has been.
We are pleased with how our three matches have played out so far, but we aren’t getting ahead of ourselves, as we know there is still plenty of work to do.
The style has probably evolved multiple times in the period I’ve been away as I haven’t been involved for the best part of a decade, and with the new rules it is much harder to tell how much Super League has changed.
But I do know that any game of rugby league is tough; it does not matter at what age group or what side of the world you are playing on.
