England coach Steve McNamara believes the performances of James Graham and Sam Burgess in last weekend’s NRL preliminary finals is proof they are two of the best players in the world.
McNamara, who is in an assistant coach to Trent Robinson at the Sydney Roosters, admitted it was uncomfortable viewing watching Burgess, who he gave his Super League debut to eight years ago, produce another outstanding display as South Sydney beat the premiers 32-22 last Friday.
Not only was the 25-year-old a key factor in the Roosters surrendering their premiership crown, but it was a reminder of how much he’ll be missed in England’s Four Nations squad later this month when he switches to rugby.
Graham’s barnstorming effort produced a try against Penrith and helped the Bulldogs to a hard-fought 18-12 win to book a second grand final appearance in three years.
“Jammer’s (Graham) in tremendous form, you look at the number of carries he makes and the number of plays he’s involved in with the Bulldogs,” McNamara told AAP.
“Also his sheer ability to play, it’s like having an extra halfback in your team in a front-rower’s body.
“Souths were deserved winners against us and Sam was outstanding, as he has been all season.
“It’s a big loss to us (England) and to rugby league as a whole.
“But Sam and Jammer both proved they are up there with the best players in the world.”
McNamara helped oversee Burgess’ development when he coached the Bradford Bulls academy side before becoming head coach in 2006.
At the time the Bulls were paying the price for the largesse of the trophy-laden years of the early 2000s but McNamara said the emergence of Burgess allowed the cash-strapped club to offload Great Britian prop Stuart Fielden for a world record fee of STG450,000 ($A825,000).
“We had to sell Fielden, but this 16-17-year-old kid was sitting there waiting for an opportunity and it was clear that it wouldn’t be long until he was ready,” McNamara said.
“He got his opportunity and took the Super League by storm and his first international appearance was against New Zealand in 2007 and he was sensational – he was always destined to be a star.
“The impact he’s had on not only South Sydney, but the NRL and even Australian sport as a whole is fantastic.
“For an Englishman to do that is a magnificent achievement.”
Unlike Burgess and his brothers Tom, George and Luke, Graham doesn’t come from a traditional rugby league heartland having grown up in football-dominated Liverpool.
“What he has achieved is fantastic as he’s not from a normal rugby league background,” McNamara said.
“Kids from Liverpool don’t play rugby league, they all end up playing soccer.
“The question over English players when they come to the NRL is can they play well week in, week out and not sporadically?
“He’s proved he can do that over three years. He has a fantastic engine, I wouldn’t say he could play 80 minutes but he’s not far from it.”
