Graham takes youngster under his wing at Dragons

James Graham has only had three training sessions with St George Illawarra Dragons but he is already leading by example, according to rookie Blake Lawrie.

The majority of the Dragons players went to the beach near the WIN Stadium after a training session on Thursday, but Graham and youngster Lawrie continued doing extra training together before later joining their team-mates on the beach in Wollongong.

Forward Lawrie, 21, told nrl.com: “He has only been here a few days but he has impressed me.

“You can tell how he has got to where he has and why he has played as many games as he has just by what he does on the training paddock.

“He is always working hard and he always does extras. He just pulled me aside at the end of training then and we did a couple of extras together.”

Graham, 32, only started back training this week following trips to England and Canada to visit family after an impressive World Cup campaign with England.

But he is already making a positive impact at the Dragons and says he is looking forward to helping the youngsters into the team this season.

The former St Helens star told nrl.com: “As an older guy, I like seeing those younger guys coming through and seeing their careers develop.

“We have seen a few young lads here get that taste of first team last year, they have got that first season under their belt, they know what the NRL is about and what they need to do to play week to week and I think we will see some of them come to the forefront of this pack this year.”