Watch: James Graham shoots down Aussie journo in on-air spat

Former St Helens prop James Graham has been in an on-air spat on Australian TV when talking about concussion.

Arguing with Dean Ritchie on NRL 360, he was in a heated debate around the reason for St George Illawarra’s Moses Suli being knocked out, immediately after kick-off on Anzac Day.

He asked Ritchie what he thought the reason for the incident was, before shouting ‘wrong, wrong, wrong’ before he could finish.

The former St Helens legend blamed Jaydn Su’a, Suli’s teammate, for the incident, while Ritchie was on the side of changing how kick-offs work in NRL, something that has been proposed in an effort to avoid high-speed collisions.

Graham then moved on to talk more generally about the issue of concussions in the sport.

“It’s a safety versus spectacle debate – how safe do you want it to be?

“If you want the game to be safe, you’re watching the wrong game.”

Footage of James Graham putting Ritchie down for all Rugby League fans to see on Fox’s NRL 360 show was shared on social media and can be watched in the embedded post at the bottom of the article.

The St Helens legend has received a lot of praise from fans online, with suggestions that he speaks more like someone who has played the game than other pundits on the show, and is clearly very passionate about the debate on concussion in rugby league.

James Graham and his previous comments on concussion

James Graham is also someone who’s spoken at length on this topic.

Previously, as part of a debate on concussion in the sport for Sky Sports, Graham gave his views on concussion.

He said: “We have a huge emphasis on winning and performance culture, we don’t have an emphasis on health culture.

“It’s just perhaps tipping the scales slightly in favour of the health aspect of sport.

“Concussion is on the mind of anyone involved in the sport at the moment. It’s all very well and good the best neurologists in the world to tell us about the dangers of concussion and continuing to play.

“But from a players’ and athletes’ perspective, we know the pressures that come with it and the sacrifices we’ve made.

“It’s about bringing many stakeholders of the game along with us.”

He’s more qualified to talk on this issue than most as well: he’s got dark spots on his brain, which are believed to be due to blows to the head.

However, he’s not fully in favour of just making the sport as safe as possible.

Speaking on recent rule changes from the RFL in an attempt to combat concussion, he said last year: “For me I’m like, is that the primary goal of our sport? To make it safe?

“Safer, but 100% safe? I think things like inclusivity are a bit of a buzzword at the moment.

“I don’t know if tackle and contact sport is for every kid. Certain people are attracted to this sport because there is that physical element to it.

“I’ve got to say, I think some of them are a bit of an overreach and the unintended consequences of these decisions could be incredibly detrimental to the game.”

Gotta say i was relieved to see James Graham sitting alongside Braith tonight !
Can’t imagine Gordie going toe to toe like that. #OutstandingChoice pic.twitter.com/EAyRe8fZMM

— The Oracle (@BigOtrivia) April 29, 2024