‘Don’t aim low anymore’: Graham suspended four weeks

Wade Graham revealed his history of concussions was the reason he avoided going low on Davvy Moale as he was suspended four matches at the NRL judiciary for a contentious high tackle.

The Cronulla co-captain argued his tackle on Moale during Saturday night’s 27-18 loss to South Sydney was careless and not reckless, which carried a more serious punishment.

Graham, whose 2021 season was cut short because a series of head knocks, made the revelation during Tuesday night’s hearing he now avoided going low on opposition players for fear of putting his head in a dangerous position.

When asked by lawyer Nick Ghabar if there was anything he could have done differently with Moale, Graham said: “I suppose I could have tried to go lower, but I had no time to change.

“I’ve had a series of concussions and don’t aim low anymore - I aim at the ball and stay away from the legs.”

Moale was not injured in the tackle, and Graham was only placed on report and sent to the bin after the bunker reviewed the hit.

The penalty also means Graham is stranded on 278 career games, and now needs Cronulla to go deep into the finals to be any chance of becoming just the third Shark behind Paul Gallen and Andrew Ettingshausen to reach the magical 300-game milestone.

Graham’s ban means he will miss games against Parramatta, Canberra, St George Illawarra and the Warriors before returning in round seven against the Dolphins.

It was only the second time he has had to front the judiciary in 16 years - and his second guilty verdict.

“I’ll get back to Sharkies, get a hard month of training in on the back of a hard pre-season, and hopefully be ready to go in four weeks,″⁣ Graham said.

NRL legal counsel Patrick Knowles argued Graham raced out of the line, jumped off the ground to make the tackle and always had Moale in his sights. Despite knowing the risk of danger Moale faced, Graham still went ahead and executed the tackle, Knowles said.

Ghabar, however, said Graham had no time to react, and even the lack of complaints from Souths players - and referee Todd Smith - indicated the tackle was not at the worst end of the scale.

Judiciary chair Geoff Bellew was joined on the panel by Bob Lindner and former referee Paul Simpkins, who were unanimous in their guilty verdict.

Graham said he had eyes for Cameron Murray before he passed for Moale, and had “less than a second” to react.

The brutal shot was described on the night as “spectacular” by Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon, and despite bringing the crowd to life, Souths scored the next play through Campbell Graham.

Souths hooker Damien Cook said earlier in the day Graham was a ’competitor who is always out there doing his best and inspiring his team”.

“He’s never out there to hurt someone for the sake of hurting someone,” Cook said.

“We saw it live and only the one [camera] angle. As good as it looked - and the crowd loved it - but the one thing we’re moving forward with in the game is protecting players against possible head knocks and concussion, and looking after them later in life.”