Wade Graham (born 25 October 1990) is a professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
footballer who plays as a er for and captains the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League ( NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...
in the
NRL. He has played for at international level.
Graham previously played for the
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penri ...
between 2008 and 2010 in the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnershi ...
, and has played at representative level for the
Prime Minister's XIII,
City Origin
The Sydney Rugby League team, known as the City Rugby League team, or Combined Sydney, or Sydney Firsts, or Sydney Capitals, is a representative rugby league team. From 2021, the men's team is to consist of players selected from the New South Wa ...
,
Indigenous All Stars and
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in the
State of Origin series
The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons.
Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...
.
Background
Graham was born in
Blacktown, New South Wales,
Australia and is of
Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
descent - from
Bundjalung people
The Bundjalung people, also spelt Bunjalung, Badjalang and Bandjalang, are Aboriginal Australians who are the original custodians of the northern coastal area of New South Wales, Australia, located approximately northeast of Sydney, an area th ...
.
Playing career
Graham played his junior rugby league for
Blacktown City and attended
The Hills Sports High School before being signed by the
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penri ...
. Graham played for
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
under 16's and 18's, as well as the Panthers
Harold Matthews and
SG Ball teams. Graham started the 2008 season in the
NYC for the Penrith Panthers before being called up to the first-grade squad, still as a 17-year-old in high school.
2008
In Round 15 of the
2008 NRL season
The 2008 NRL season was the 101st season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the eleventh run by the National Rugby League. For the second year, sixteen teams competed for the 2008 Telstra Premiership title. The s ...
, Graham was called up to make his
NRL debut for the
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penri ...
at against the
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint ...
in the 13–12 loss at
ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
...
. Graham finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 8 matches for the Penrith club in the
2008 NRL season
The 2008 NRL season was the 101st season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the eleventh run by the National Rugby League. For the second year, sixteen teams competed for the 2008 Telstra Premiership title. The s ...
.
2009
In Round 4 against the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
, Graham scored his first NRL career try in Penrith's 42–22 win at
Penrith Stadium
Penrith Stadium (known commercially as BlueBet Stadium) is a rugby league and association football stadium located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.
The 22,500 capacity venue is the home ground for the Penrith Panthers who play in the Na ...
. Graham finished the
2009 NRL season with him playing in 22 matches and scoring five tries for the Penrith club.
2010
On 24 June 2010, Graham signed with the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League ( NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...
starting from 2011 with a desire to play regular first-grade football from the preference for the halves combinations of
Travis Burns and
Luke Walsh
Luke Robert Walsh (born 12 May 1987) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Newcastle Knights and the Penrith Panthers in the Australian National Rugby League and for St Helens and the Catalans Dragons ...
by the Penrith coach
Matthew Elliot limited the number of games he could have played. Graham finished the
2010 NRL season
The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 3 Octobe ...
with him playing in 12 matches and scoring 4 tries for
Penrith.
2011
In Round 1 of the
2011 NRL season
The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The NR ...
, Graham made his club debut for the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League ( NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...
against the
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...
at in the Sharks 40–12 loss at
Canberra Stadium
Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium for commercial reasons) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports v ...
. In Round 4 against the
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
at
Owen Delany Park in
Taupo, New Zealand, Graham scored his first club try for Cronulla-Sutherland in the 26–18 loss. Graham finished the 2011 NRL season with him playing in all of Cronulla's 24 matches, scoring 6 tries and kicking 2 field goals.
2012
On 26 May 2012, Graham extended his contract with the Cronulla club for a further two seasons to the end of the 2014 season. Graham finished the
2012 NRL season
The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to sp ...
having played in 15 matches and scoring 6 tries.
Graham was invited to represent the
Portugal national rugby league team in the 2012
Cabramatta International Nines
Cabramatta International Nines is a rugby league nines tournament held annually in Cabramatta, New South Wales, Australia it was first held in 2003. The 2020 will be broadcast online by The81stMinute Call Team on steelesports.com.au with video ...
tournament.
2013
On 29 April 2013, Graham was among the first of many Cronulla players to be interviewed by
ASADA, where controversy ensued regarding his attending the interview in casual attire. Graham was selected for the
NSW City team in the 2013
City vs Country Origin
City vs Country Origin was an annual Australian rugby league football match that took place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represented the Sydney metropolitan area. While technically it was Sy ...
match off the interchange bench in City's 18–12 loss in
Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggir ...
. In Round 17 against the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
, Graham played his 100th
NRL career match, scoring a try in Cronulla's 36–22 win at
Remondis Stadium. Graham finished the
2013 NRL season
The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...
having played 23 matches and scoring 2 tries for Cronulla-Sutherland.
2014
In February 2014, Graham was selected in the Sharks inaugural
2014 Auckland Nines squad. On 14 April 2014, Graham extended his contract with Cronulla-Sutherland for another three years to the end of the 2017 season after knocking back a $500,000 a season offer from the
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are ...
. On 22 August 2014, Graham became one of the Cronulla players to accept reduced bans from the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority for his role in the 2011
Sharks supplements scandal. Graham finished off the
2014 NRL season
The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Leagu ...
having played 19 matches and scoring 5 tries.
2015
On 31 January and 1 February, Graham captained the Sharks in the
2015 NRL Auckland Nines
The 2015 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the second NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 16 September 20 ...
, after originally selected captain,
Luke Lewis
Luke Lewis (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian rugby league commentator and former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia ...
, was ruled out with injury. On 3 May, Graham captained
New South Wales City against
New South Wales Country, playing at second-row in his team's 34–22 loss at
Wagga Wagga
Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's ...
. He co-captained the Sharks alongside
Michael Ennis for a period whilst Cronulla's regular captain
Paul Gallen was sidelined due to injury. Graham finished the
2015 season having played in all of the Sharks 26 matches, and scoring 4 tries. On 15 December, he was named on the interchange bench for the
Indigenous All Stars due to play the
NRL All Stars team on 13 February 2016.
2016
On 13 January 2016, Graham was named in the emerging
New South Wales Blues squad. On 13 February 2016, Graham played for the Indigenous All Stars against the NRL All Stars, playing off the interchange bench in the 12–8 loss at
Suncorp Stadium
Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...
.
Graham made his debut for New South Wales in game 3 of the
2016 State of Origin series, after having originally been selected to debut in Game 2, however being ineligible due to a suspension resulting from a high tackle on
Jonathan Thurston in Cronulla-Sutherland's Round 14 win over the
North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Sinc ...
.
On 2 October, Graham was part of the Cronulla-Sutherland side that won the 2016 grand final to claim the club's first ever premiership.
2017
In 2017, Graham was selected for the
2017 State of Origin series. Graham was part of The Cronulla side which finished 5th at the end of the season. On 10 September, Cronulla played North Queensland in the first week elimination finals and suffered a 15-14 shock defeat.
2018
In 2018, Graham was not selected for NSW by coach Brad Fittler for the 2018 State of Origin series due to being out with injury for most of the first half of the 2018 season.
In week one of the 2018 NRL finals, Graham was taken from the field in the first half during Cronulla's match against Eastern Suburbs with subsequent scans revealing the player had torn his
anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. ...
(ACL) ruling him out for the rest of the season.
2019
Graham made his return for Cronulla in Round 13 against Parramatta, which Cronulla won 42–22.
Graham was selected for Game 2 of the
2019 State of Origin series where he starred in New South Wales' 38–6 win at
Perth Stadium
Perth Stadium, currently known as Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Burswood. It was completed in late 2017 and officially opened on 21 January 2018. The s ...
.
Graham was retained for Game 3 of the series, which New South Wales won 26–20 at
ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
...
. It was the first time since 2005 that New South Wales had won back to back series.
Graham was limited to ten appearances for Cronulla in the regular
2019 NRL season, where the club finished 7th. Graham played in the elimination final loss to Manly at
Brookvale Oval
Brookvale Oval (also known by the commercial sponsorship name 4 Pines Park) is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by t ...
.
On 30 September, Graham was named in the second row and as captain of the Australia PM XIII. On 7 October, Graham was named in the Australian team for the
2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s
The 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s was the first staging of the Rugby League World Cup 9s tournament and took place on 18 and 19 October 2019 at Sydney's Bankwest Stadium. The tournament featured teams from 12 International Rugby League membe ...
, as well as the upcoming
Oceania Cup
The Oceania Cup is an international men's field hockey competition organised by Oceania Hockey Federation (OHF). It is held every two years to determine which teams will receive an automatic berth to the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup and Summer Oly ...
fixtures.
2020
Graham played 19 games for Cronulla in the
2020 NRL season
The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year.
; Notes
:
:
:
Pre-season
...
as the club finished 8th and qualified for the finals. He played in Cronulla's elimination final loss against Canberra.
2021
Graham was limited to only 11 games for Cronulla in the
2021 NRL season
The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year.
Regular season
Ladd ...
which saw the club narrowly miss the finals by finishing 9th on the table.
Graham decided to end his season prematurely due to three head concussions he sustained including two in consecutive weeks.
2022
Graham played a total of 18 games for Cronulla in the
2022 NRL season
The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...
as the club finished second on the table and qualified for the finals. Graham played in both finals matches which saw Cronulla eliminated in straight sets.
For his player advocacy work, Graham was given the prestigious
Rugby League Players Association Dennis Tutty Award. RLPA CEO
Clint Newton said "In particular, Wade was incredibly influential in the roll-back of the restrictive COVID protocols NRL and NRLW players were facing in January, in working with the Association to negotiate the players’ share of outperformance, and now as we get to the table with the NRL to negotiate our joint-CBA."
Statistics
NRL
: ''Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2022 season''
All Star
City vs Country
State of Origin
International
References
External links
Cronulla Sharks profile2017 RLWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Wade
1990 births
Living people
Australia national rugby league team players
Australian rugby league players
Australian sportspeople in doping cases
Bundjalung people
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players
Doping cases in Australian rugby league
Indigenous All Stars players
Indigenous Australian rugby league players
New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players
Penrith Panthers players
Prime Minister's XIII players
Rugby league five-eighths
Rugby league locks
Rugby league players from Blacktown
Rugby league second-rows
Windsor Wolves players