Could James Graham be considering a St Helens return?
Reports in Australia over the weekend claimed the England international has yet to sign a new deal with St George Illawarra Dragons and is thought to be considering a return to England for the final years of his career.
A return to his homeland would almost inevitably be with his boyhood club St Helens, who he represented for nine seasons before moving to the NRL with Canterbury Bulldogs.
With Luke Thompson following in Graham’s footsteps and heading to the Bulldogs next season, Saints are on the lookout for a big-name prop to fill the void left by their current number 10.
To many, it will appear the stars have aligned for Graham to make his return and end his career in Super League, though St George’s recruitment officer, former Saints coach Ian Millward, confirmed the club would be sitting down with the 34-year-old to discuss his future in the coming weeks.
“At the appropriate time we want to sit down with James,” Millward, who handed Graham his professional debut, told the Sunday Telegraph.
“He might turn to us and say, ‘I’d like to spend my last two years in England to finish up my career’.
“I don’t think you can rule anything out, but it is something that will be raised sooner rather than later.”
Graham made over 200 appearances for Saints between 2003 and 2011 before making his move to the NRL.
Since heading down under he has made almost 200 NRL appearances and has received a Golden Cap for making over 50 international appearances for England and Great Britain.
One of the greats of his generation, St Helens fans would be expected to be almost unanimous in their approval of bringing back the prop to close out his career at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
But it remains to be seen what move Graham will make.
