Sharks NRL great Wade Graham to retire at season’s end
Darren Walton |
Cronulla premiership-winning great Wade Graham has announced the 2023 NRL season will be his 16th and last.
The last man standing from the Sharks’ one and only grand final-winning team in 2016 revealed his decision to close family, friends and past and present teammates at a private function on Tuesday night.
“The time has come for me to say this will be my last season in the NRL and for the Sharks,” the 32-year-old said at a gathering to celebrate him joining an elite group of Cronulla club legends like Paul Gallen and Andrew Ettingshausen to have played 250 first-grade games for the club.
The former Australian Test and NSW State of Origin star achieved the feat in Cronulla’s win over South Sydney last Saturday night.
Fittingly, Gallen, Ettingshausen, several of his premiership-winning clubmates including Luke Lewis, Andrew Fifita and coach Shane Flanagan, plus Todd Carney and ex-Blues and Kangaroos captain Boyd Cordner were there for Graham’s announcement.
Graham joined the Sharks in 2011 after debuting at Penrith as a 17-year-old in 2008.
He proceeded to forge a decorated career.
After sharing the captaincy duties during Gallen’s final years at the Sharks, Graham took over as skipper in 2020.
As well as winning a premiership, Graham played eight Tests for Australia and six State of Origin games for NSW.
In 2017, the classy back-rower became only the fifth Australian forward to score four tries in a Test match, achieving the feat against France in Canberra on his starting debut for the Kangaroos.
“It’s still sinking in but something when I finish footy I’ll be able look back on and be really proud of,” Graham said at the time.
With 42 matches for Penrith also under his belt, Graham could yet become the 50th player to join the NRL’s exclusive 300-game club with eight more appearances for Cronulla if the fifth-placed Sharks make the grand final.
He will captain the Sharks on Friday night against Gold Coast at PointsBet Stadium.
AAP