Hopefully one day he will lose the power to his gob.

we all dislike players from other clubs and wont get into who dont like at wigan, graham got hurt bad at Cas week before, and it was obvious to see as he tried to hit the tackle bags he was hurt, he wouldnt have missed the semi at any cost, hes a scouser

I'm sorry, but as brave as it may be and as heart-breaking as it would have been for him to miss the semi-final, I really believe that the management should have simply TOLD him that he couldn't play.

I appreciate that you want to have your best players on the field, but no game is worth risking a player's permanent health for.

I sincerely hope that this was simply a case of weak management, caving in to the player's insistance that he was OK to play, rather than a deliberate ignoring of the risks due to Graham not being with them next year.

They need to give the lad the rest of August off from the sounds of it and just hope he can be fit for the play-offs.

Well, like I said, Wigan fans can mock, and they do, and in doing so show what total lack of class they have.

He played on injections having been advised by medical staff that the disc had slipped back into place during the week but he was still suffering spasms. The injections were in his neck. He wasn't forced to play. He is a trusted member of the team and it meant a great deal to him to play. That is between him and the Saints staff.

Both Leon Pryce and Jon Wilkin had the same injury last season. They both had to have operations to fix the injury and neither has suffered as a result. James Graham might have to have the same operation at some point or he might not have the problem again.

Players do play injured but they are never forced to (these days anyway). Not at Saints anyway. Keiron Cunningham played with injury to his arm for years. It's always done under medical advice and care, and after much discussion. I doubt very much he will play on Friday but he may do.

u cant have a go at us, we are suggesting that the team should be looking after their players.
its darft a player playing with a slipped disk,
idiotic!
cant belive that fans of saints are supporting a player putting his life/family life/ and possible paralyisis on the line.
granted injuries are part of the game but if it is all true about graham its just daft.
shouldnt have played not in a state like that.

If this is correct then it seems amazing that he was picked in the first place and then allowed to remain on the field.

Are you sure this is right? Leaving aside the obvious medical and health and safety issues, do you really want a player who is far from 100% playing in a cup semi final against the best team in the league?

Check tackles and metres made........

If he acts like that in the NRl the refs wont do him, the props on the other team will

I think its stupidity playing with that injury.

Saints fans can say "he convinced them he could play" all they like, if he had a slipped disk and wasnt 100% then they should not have had him playing they should have ignored him. Who isnt gonna do all they can to play in a semi against the old enemy?

Saints were very lucky not to end up ruining this guys life tbh.

I don't know the particulars of Graham's injuries, but the sad story of Ian Knott will always come to mind for me when I hear about pain killing injections and the back: www.rflbenevolentfund.co.uk/comm ... -ian-knott **Sorry didn't realise this was already pointed out on the previous page**

I don't know the particulars of Graham's injuries, but the sad story of Ian Knott will always come to mind for me when I hear about pain killing injections and the back: www.rflbenevolentfund.co.uk/comm ... -ian-knott **Sorry didn't realise this was already pointed out on the previous page**

If the injuries Graham has are anything like described I simply can't understand why Saints allowed him to play. His body was not fit for 80 mins of RL.

I'm just looking at his situation and comparing it to Morley's. It was said of him that he was desperate to play in the QF v Wigan. Listening to Tony Smith on the radio/tv it was obvious that Morley had been told, irrespective of his wishes, he wasn't playing from his own health's point of view.
I don't doubt for a minute either that Smith was equally desperate for Morley to play. Someone at Warrington though, probably Smith, made the decision he wasn't playing and that was it, end of! A decision made in the player's best interests.

Graham might be a Saints player and pain at times but I wish him well and hope he soon overcomes his injuries.

I agree with most comments on here about Jammer and Wello and yes they are out of order for talking back at the ref.

The only reason and explanation I can give is that they are both passionate about the club they play for and I applaud this but I am not making excuses for their behaviour.

Another rational and intelligent Saints fan.

You'd be unlikely to see a post like this from one of the Wolfs on a thread about one of their players.

Yes, he was scanned last week and it was found that he had had a bulging disc which according to the medics had slipped back into place. The disc had caused Graham to 'lose power to his legs' and so he was taken off at Cas and did not return to the field. He also suffered back spasms as a result of the disc. Only the back spasms remained before he played and that is why he required injections, due to the pain. I'm sure he will have another scan this week to determine whether the disc has become a problem again given he fell to the floor a couple of times (but that could have been the pain or the exhaustion of playing with the injury). Leon Pryce had this same injury. He was monitored while playing and in the end had an operation to fix the disc.

As for him playing: all fans want their best players on the pitch and James Graham playing injured is better than no James Graham. However, none of us would have been surprised if he had not played. In fact, I was expecting him not to.

Oh, and we had at least four players on the pitch who were 'far from 100%' and probably should not have played, Roby included. But that's been our season.

Morely had a head injury and was seeing double. That is why he has not played. Different risk level. We have Lomax as testimony to what can happen to players who are allowed to continue playing with a head injury. Saints don't allow players to play with a head injury. No club does so far as I know.

you still would have lost.

I may be wrong here, but wasn't Graham taken off after "losing his sight" (according to the BBC), but then brought back on later, when it cleared.

If true, that is FAR more serious than double-vision and borders on the criminal when it comes to neglecting your players.

saints have been very very stupid with graham there and if it is true i hope they get punished, thats just complete disregard for a players saftey. And teams moan about our tackling being unsafe, and their own managers are sending them out doing that.
just daft!

To be fair he's not there problem after this year.

cant belive im saying this about a saints player.
but while he i their player dont they owe him a duty of care? surely he can trace any future injuries paralyis back to this is reasonable cause and sue the club and coack, but like that saints feel tried to do to wigan a year or so ago

I have to be honest with you, what you're saying about Graham suggests he should not have been playing. I can't believe given the legal and insurance issues that the medical staff would have cleared him to play in that condition.



As for players who are a long way off full fitness, you simply can't play them against a top side. They will get found out. Sounds like Saints need more strength in depth. It's better to have a fully fit but average player in the side than a great player who keeps falling over.

Ironic that you start to commend a rational and intelligent comment then end with a snipe at Warrington fans.

It's comments such as yours which turns these forums into boring petty arguements between fans and derail threads! And seen as though I felt the need to comment, you have succeeded. Congrats

Just drawing a distinction between the classy behaviour of many Saints fans and the poor behaviour of many Wire fans. Both clubs are rivals of ours so it's not a strange thing to do. Fair play to Saints fans for being able to criticise their own players on the Wigan board. These are people who know their rugby and have the confidence to be honest about the shortcomings of their own players. While I think most Wigan fans behave well, I can't speak in an unbiased way about them. What I can say though is that I would advise Wire fans to look at the way Saints fans behave generally and on this board, they could learn a lot.

I wish I wasn't able to draw a distinction, especially as the gulf in class is so large, but there you go.

It's hardly my fault that visitors to this board from Warrington don't behave as well as Saints fans on the whole...

i think he is in trouble when he gets into the NRL if he carries the form he's shown of late, in fact i don't remember him playing too well against wigan at least for the past two seasons. i'm sure there have been other games i haven't seen where he's played well, but for me, he isn't the player the NRL wanted and us english fans used to look forward to seeing week in week out.

the dummy spitting aside, no player should chat back to the ref like he does, a la briers etc - for example. not a dig at wire. just a comparison.

he needs to get his game back and concentrate on that rather than trying to influence a game that his side are not good enough to win. which is a big shame, as i think next year saints will have a brilliant team with all the youngsters they have blooded this year and beyond in the full swing of SL action. maybe graham leaving them will do them a favour.

Sam Tomkins disputes every ref decision and disputes every try with " check the screen " call.

I don't see your point, so what if Graham has captained saints and his country. What's your point?