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He has been hailed as the greatest young talent to come out of Penrith since Brad Fittler, but Panthers schoolboy Wade Graham isn’t going to let the accolades distract him after leading his side back into the NRL top eight.
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Graham today turned in a supreme performance by setting up two of Penrith’s four tries to lead the Panthers to a 22-16 upset of the Eels at Parramatta Stadium.
In just his third NRL game the 17-year-old five-eighth used quick hands and an accurate boot to set up Penrith’s 16-6 half time lead and then courageously held strong as the Eels tried to unsettle him with a mountain of defensive work.
He wasn’t the only under-20s player to star for the Panthers today as fullback Lachlan Coote booted three of four conversions and hooker Masada Iosefa barged over for a strong individual try in the first half.
Penrith skipper Petero Civoniceva, who was again brilliant in backing up from Queensland’s Origin series win four days ago, has played with some freakish young talent like Karmichael Hunt and says thes three young Panthers are future champions.
“I have been amazed just with the progression they’ve made,” Civoniceva said.
“The sky is the limit for them I think.”
Graham blushes at comparisons with Fittler, both debuting for Penrith at 17, but admits he has idolised the former Test captain since he begun watching football.
However, due to his young age, he can’t remember seeing Fittler in Panthers’ colours as he was just five when Freddy left to join the Roosters in 1996.
“When I watched Freddy (Fittler) he was at the Roosters playing five-eighth but as soon as I found out he was a Penrith boy he became my favourite player from then on,” said Graham.
“(My debut) came along a lot sooner than I thought. I was hoping it wasn’t too far away, maybe the next couple of years, but this is definitely a big step up.”
He credits the Penrith coaching staff, who admit injury has forced them to fast-track the young trio, for making the transition to NRL level seamless.
“Penrith have always been great with junior talent,” he said.
“I would not say we’re the best of the local juniors. I would just say we’re footy players and the coaching staff are doing a good job with the juniors in preparing us well to play first grade.”
Halfback Luke Lewis had another fine game for the Panthers as he scored their first try and made the decisive break for Frank Pritchard to score in the second half for the match-winning 22-12 buffer.
Rhys Wesser was their other scorer while the Eels had solo tries either side of halftime to replacement hooker Matthew Keating and five-eighth Feleti Mateo.
Winger Taulima Tautai’s late try (77th minute) set the stage for a miraculous comeback but the Eels had left their run way too late.
It was a disappointing result for the Eels as they had a massive 12-4 penalty count in the favour but couldn’t get the points and now drop outside the top eight.
“We lacked a bit of energy in the game for some reason. We started poorly and made it hard for ourselves after that,” said Eels coach Michael Hagan.
“We gave ourselves some chance to get back in the game in the second half but came up with one bad read in the defensive line and they scored that last try.
“We probably just run out of time.”
NRL round 17 snapshot
THEY SAID IT: “We’re moooving along nicely.” Manly coach DES HASLER makes light of suggestions his club is using calves blood injections as they continued to set the NRL pace at the top of the table.
STAT THAT MATTERS: Two. The number of tries scored by Newcastle’s JUNIOR SAU. It was also his second double in just three NRL games.
MAN OF THE ROUND: JAMIE SOWARD. The Dragons kid has had plenty of knockers but his newfound consistency has been vital to St George Illawarra’s seven-match winning streak. Soward scored half his side’s points in their 24-16 win over Newcastle.
MAGIC MOMENT: The chip and chase by Melbourne’s BILLY SLATER where instead of picking it up he toed ahead again almost 30m for Greg Inglis to score in the corner. Magic.
TALKING POINT: Has WENDELL SAILOR lost his pace? The giant St George Illawarra winger was run down by Newcastle halfback Jarrod Mullen denying the dual international a magical 70m try in his first full NRL game in seven years.
JUDICIARY WATCH: None.
KEY INJURIES: Newcastle: Jesse Royal (knee); Manly: Steve Matai (chest); Gold Coast: Mark Minichiello (leg).
UNDER PRESSURE: Gold Coast Titans. Have lost five of past six to fall to seventh position. Injury toll is mounting and they face equal ladder leaders Sydney Roosters in Sydney this Friday where another loss could see them drop outside the top eight. With just three more home games Gold Coast faces a titanic battle to reach a maiden finals appearance.
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