James Graham v Alex Walmsley : Sat Sep 05, 2015 7:21 pm  

Just been looking how Graham progressed stat wise during his best playing years at the club and how Walmsley stacks up now he himself is progressing into his best playing year.

Considering Walmsley plays less minutes than what Graham did his carries and metres are now in "Graham Terrority" but his (Walmsley) tackle busts and offloads are far superior. Do you think Walmsley is capable of playing more minutes without reducing his performance impact, I've noticed in a few games lately he seems to want to stay on the pitch for longer spells.

Re: James Graham v Alex Walmsley : Sat Sep 05, 2015 9:19 pm  

I'd say Walmsley is more of a Jamie Peacock, than James Graham. He's more of an offloader than a ball handler. and he's a stronger carrier. It will be interesting to see how the reduction in interchanges affects his performance.

Re: James Graham v Alex Walmsley : Sat Sep 05, 2015 10:09 pm  

Alex can definitely do longer minutes and I think we will start to see that side manifest in his game over the next few years. He was always a work in progress and he has worked hard to get better at the play the ball alongside his body shape and fitness. The next steps are tweaking his offload game (this will come, he gets the arm free most of the time, he now just needs the finesse and a sharper decision making process) and his stamina.

This guy has the potential to be one of the world's best forwards. He is already pretty much the dominant forward in the SL. Stay with us for another 3 years and then go make your fortune in the NRL big man!

Re: James Graham v Alex Walmsley : Sat Sep 05, 2015 10:40 pm  

Imagine them in the same pack, scary! Looking forward to seeing them to plus George Burgess and Hill for England.

Re: James Graham v Alex Walmsley : Sun Sep 06, 2015 12:42 am  

Comparing the stats you should take with a pinch of salt. They play a very different style even though they both play at prop.

Re: James Graham v Alex Walmsley : Sun Sep 06, 2015 7:11 am  

I think he can do longer minutes, I'm not sure when we drop to 8 interchanges, but he has plenty of time to adjust.

Also it's not just him, other teams will also have to play players for longer, so those tackling him will have been on the pitch for longer too.

Re: James Graham v Alex Walmsley : Sun Sep 06, 2015 7:58 am  

Different types of players. Both big hard working props and Imo both the two best english props at the moment.

Jammer brings a presence and a aura about him which puts him up there as one of the best props in the world. He can infulance the momentum of a game which is rare for a prop. Jamie peacock had the same thing with leeds.

Re: James Graham v Alex Walmsley : Sun Sep 06, 2015 8:03 am  

ThePrinter wrote:

Comparing the stats you should take with a pinch of salt. They play a very different style even though they both play at prop.

We know they are different styles they are both metre munchers, Graham lots of carries hits the deck early for a quicker play the ball and has good hands for a prop, Walmsley lots of carries with lots of tackle busts and offloads.

Our observation is that Walmsley has a a lot more confidence this year demanding the ball and standing up to the opposition when his fellow mates are struggling, this is the comparison of Graham v Walmsley now that the latter has become a more influential game changer.

Personally I think he's become the front runner for the Man of Steel now due to his all round ability and his impact on a game. Alex is a *monster" running into the opposition at full speed.

Re: James Graham v Alex Walmsley : Sun Sep 06, 2015 9:48 am  

Walmsley more of a Jamie Peacock? come on.............and no comparison to James. Man of Steel, think Jamie Peacock is way ahead in that.

Re: James Graham v Alex Walmsley : Sun Sep 06, 2015 11:50 am  

jaybs wrote:

Walmsley more of a Jamie Peacock? come on.............and no comparison to James. Man of Steel, think Jamie Peacock is way ahead in that.

Compared to Peacock, Walmsley has made more metres (the most in the league), more carries (the most in the league), more tackle busts (the most in the league), more clean breaks, more offloads and has a higher average gain. Peacock way ahead you say?