St. George Illawarra Dragons have announced that they are in discussions with prop forward James Graham over an early termination of his contract in order to allow the 34-year-old to return to the Super League with immediate effect.
The veteran has played in 185 games in the NRL since leaving St Helens at the end of the 2011 Super League campaign. He spent five years in Canterbury with the Bulldogs before making the switch to the Dragons in 2018.
Dragons issue Graham statement
A statement released by the Dragons on Thursday read:
”St George Illawarra have been involved in discussions with Dragons forward James Graham and his management regarding an opportunity for him to return to the English Super League with immediate effect.
“The Dragons will consider this option for Graham on the merit a replacement player is secured by the club prior to his release.
“The Dragons will be making no further comment regarding Graham at this stage.”
Graham to return to St Helens?
Whilst Graham is obviously getting towards the back end of his rugby league career, he is still very much one of the top prop forwards in the game and would make a worthy addition to any Super League side, including his former employers St Helens.
Graham spent the first eight years of his career with the Saints, making 224 appearances for the club and, considering they have just lost Luke Thompson to Canterbury, they may be looking for a short-term replacement.
Luke’s namesake Joel Thompson - currently of the Manly Sea Eagles - has announced that he will be heading to the Totally Wicked Stadium in 2021, but with the Saints short of a forward for the remainder of the 2020 campaign, could we see Graham back in a St Helens jersey in the weeks to come?