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hey guys..im a massive roosters fan so i thought i would became a member..And i found this article so i thought i would post it..
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AS he prepares to meet his former club at the Sydney Football Stadium tonight, Sydney Roosters centre Phil Graham is playing some of the best football of his career. So good, selection in the Country side is a possibility -- three long years after he last played in the representative arena.
"Three years ago was it? Damn," Graham said. "Sounds like a while ago, three years."
A lot has happened in the interim. Most importantly, Graham has packed his bags and moved to Sydney's eastern suburbs. Todd Carney won't be the only former Raider playing against his former teammates club this weekend.
Graham still counts several Raiders players among his closest friends. He even drove to the nation's capital two weeks ago to watch them play the Wests Tigers.
"I still speak to a few of them and they're all going well," Graham said.
"I have some good mates down there. I played there for a while. It's going to be a big game -- they're going to be out to get into me and Toddy I suppose.
"There are a lot of good people in the club down there. There's no hard feelings at all."
Graham was a victim of circumstances at Canberra. He compiled one of the best try-scoring strike rates among players in the NRL but the Raiders had a surfeit of young stars they needed to retain and Graham was the odd man out.
"I think their cap was pretty full with young fellas, which was a good thing for them -- they're going to be the future of the club," Graham said.
"They have some great young kids down there. I knew that halfway through the year. I was hoping to stay but after a while I thought maybe I do need a fresh start. I thought it would freshen me up a bit. I am loving it up here."
Canberra chief executive Don Furner said: "At the end of the day we would have liked to keep him. Phil Graham is one of those guys that never says a bad word about anybody, and equally no one says a bad word about him.
"Equally he was a pleasure to have at the club. I'm glad he got a contract somewhere else.
"It was just one of those things that we had that batch of young guys we needed to upgrade and extend, otherwise we could possibly have lost them. There was no dramas with Phil."
As difficult as it was to leave, the move has been a good one for Graham. He shares a house in Sydney's eastern suburbs with Carney and, like his roommate, is thriving in his new surrounds.
"When I signed here, Toddy and I were talking, and saying we would get somewhere to live," Graham said.
"I suppose it's been a bit easier with someone else at the club who I knew pretty well. It's been a bit easier for sure.
"I think I am going all right. I still have heaps of room for improvement. I am just looking to do my bit for the team and hopefully we can keep moving forward. Hopefully we can keep doing that."
As for playing under Brian Smith, Graham said: "Just his knowledge of the game -- he's helped the little things in the game. I have been learning a lot.
"You can take a lot from what he says because he knows so much about the game. Hopefully I can continue on and learn off him."
Most importantly, Graham has avoided injuries so far. He hopes they are now a thing of the past.
"I think luck has a lot to do with it," he said.
"If you look at the injuries I had, there was nothing I could have avoided. One of my own players hit me in one game and I busted a rib. I was out for a month with that. I did my knee.
"It can happen to anyone.
"It is just a bit of luck. It's all good times here. I am loving it."
And also Raiders will be without Shaun Fensom who suffered a back injury against the eels.
__________________________________________________ __________
AS he prepares to meet his former club at the Sydney Football Stadium tonight, Sydney Roosters centre Phil Graham is playing some of the best football of his career. So good, selection in the Country side is a possibility -- three long years after he last played in the representative arena.
"Three years ago was it? Damn," Graham said. "Sounds like a while ago, three years."
A lot has happened in the interim. Most importantly, Graham has packed his bags and moved to Sydney's eastern suburbs. Todd Carney won't be the only former Raider playing against his former teammates club this weekend.
Graham still counts several Raiders players among his closest friends. He even drove to the nation's capital two weeks ago to watch them play the Wests Tigers.
"I still speak to a few of them and they're all going well," Graham said.
"I have some good mates down there. I played there for a while. It's going to be a big game -- they're going to be out to get into me and Toddy I suppose.
"There are a lot of good people in the club down there. There's no hard feelings at all."
Graham was a victim of circumstances at Canberra. He compiled one of the best try-scoring strike rates among players in the NRL but the Raiders had a surfeit of young stars they needed to retain and Graham was the odd man out.
"I think their cap was pretty full with young fellas, which was a good thing for them -- they're going to be the future of the club," Graham said.
"They have some great young kids down there. I knew that halfway through the year. I was hoping to stay but after a while I thought maybe I do need a fresh start. I thought it would freshen me up a bit. I am loving it up here."
Canberra chief executive Don Furner said: "At the end of the day we would have liked to keep him. Phil Graham is one of those guys that never says a bad word about anybody, and equally no one says a bad word about him.
"Equally he was a pleasure to have at the club. I'm glad he got a contract somewhere else.
"It was just one of those things that we had that batch of young guys we needed to upgrade and extend, otherwise we could possibly have lost them. There was no dramas with Phil."
As difficult as it was to leave, the move has been a good one for Graham. He shares a house in Sydney's eastern suburbs with Carney and, like his roommate, is thriving in his new surrounds.
"When I signed here, Toddy and I were talking, and saying we would get somewhere to live," Graham said.
"I suppose it's been a bit easier with someone else at the club who I knew pretty well. It's been a bit easier for sure.
"I think I am going all right. I still have heaps of room for improvement. I am just looking to do my bit for the team and hopefully we can keep moving forward. Hopefully we can keep doing that."
As for playing under Brian Smith, Graham said: "Just his knowledge of the game -- he's helped the little things in the game. I have been learning a lot.
"You can take a lot from what he says because he knows so much about the game. Hopefully I can continue on and learn off him."
Most importantly, Graham has avoided injuries so far. He hopes they are now a thing of the past.
"I think luck has a lot to do with it," he said.
"If you look at the injuries I had, there was nothing I could have avoided. One of my own players hit me in one game and I busted a rib. I was out for a month with that. I did my knee.
"It can happen to anyone.
"It is just a bit of luck. It's all good times here. I am loving it."
And also Raiders will be without Shaun Fensom who suffered a back injury against the eels.
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