Dumped five-eighth Wade Graham believes his new role as a utility off the Cronulla bench has given the Sharks a new dimension in attack and could be a sneak peak at the future, as the 21-year-old looks to take over Paul Gallen’s lock position full-time.
After spending his entire NRL career in the halves, Graham packed down at lock in the Sharks’ wins over Manly and North Queensland, pushing skipper Gallen into the front-row, where he has had enormous success, to cover the loss of prop Bryce Gibbs (thumb).
Gibbs has been named to face Penrith at Centrebet Stadium on Saturday, forcing Graham back to the bench in a role where he will come on and play lock while Gallen plays tighter.
Graham says the move has given his game a new sense of freedom, and the Sharks a new element in attack as Todd Carney and Jeff Robson run the show in the halves.
“(Coach Shane Flanagan) has been really good there, he hasn’t restricted me in how I should play,” Graham told AAP.
“He’s just let me go out there and play footy.
“It’s going to be a work in progress how I develop in that role while I’m playing there, and obviously the more games we play and if we get some good dry weather football we might be able to develop a few things.
“But it’s certainly been a breath of fresh air and I’m really enjoying the change.”
So far Flanagan has been hesitant to move Gallen into the front-row on a permanent basis, saying it is not a topic he will revisit for at least another 12 months – but that process may be sped up if Graham’s inclusion at lock, playing a second five-eighth’s role, continues to reap rewards.
“That’s the eventual plan, hopefully,” Graham said.
“Robbo is a really good organiser and a really good director of the team. When you’ve got someone like TC there running around the field, offering that point of attack, I can just slot in anywhere where he’s not and just offer another point of attack.
“That’s the long-term plan. But it’s a work in progress. Obviously I’m not going to jump straight in there and start producing this and that, but I’m certainly liking it and I’m liking the freedom that’s there.
“Hopefully it can be a long-term thing.”
Graham said it was important to secure another two competition points out west on Saturday, otherwise the gutsy wins against two of the competition’s high-flyers would mean nothing.
“We’ve worked so hard and got these two wins on the board, but it would be really disappointing if we went up there and went backwards,” he said.
“Hopefully we can keep working on what we did the last previous weeks and even in the opening two rounds to keep going forward.”
