State of Origin 2023 | Campbell Graham picked as 18th man by NSW Blues then released, Brad Fittler explains exclusive
3 min read
NSW coach Brad Fittler has explained the decision to pick Campbell Graham as 18th man before releasing him from Blues camp almost immediately afterwards.
Graham has been arguably the form centre in the competition this season and was the front-runner to nab the right centre role in the NSW team had selectors decided to leave an out-of-sorts Tom Trbojevic.
The door on that possibility was emphatically closed by Trbojevic’s sensational performance to put the Raiders to the sword on Sunday but the call to stick with Turbo did little to distract from the confusion caused by the Blues’ call to release Graham and replace him in the 18th man role with Stephen Crichton on Monday.
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While the 18th man job was traditionally a reward for a player who was knocking on the door of representative selection, the squad role has taken on more significance in recent seasons with concussion rules bringing the 18th man into the game when a player is knocked out by an act of foul play.
Given the brutal nature of Origin, that could have conceivably offered Graham a path to his Origin debut but that has been shut down by his exclusion from camp.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports’ Freddy and the Eighth, NSW coach Fittler broke down the thought process behind the decision, explaining the important duties that Graham, who has been carrying a sternum injury, was not available to fulfil.
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» … when I spoke to him on Sunday night he’d had a scan that day and it was a bit worse than it was prior and he was saying it was a bit more painful than it had been prior, » Fittler said.
« And if you’re the 18th man you need to be ready, you need to be training and you need to be able to help out.
« If you need anyone to do any sort of shoulder work, contact work, pretty much that’s the job of the 18th, so we didn’t think it was beneficial to him, Souths, or NSW. »
Soon after Graham was released by NSW, the Rabbitohs sent out a statement clarifying that the star centre would likely be available to play for his club, even if he was only on light duties during the week.
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« For a number of weeks, Graham has been managing his training loads at the beginning of each week to allow him to be fit on game day, » the Rabbitohs statement said.
Fittler made it clear that he couldn’t afford to follow that same process in Blues camp, leading to Graham’s release.
He has since been named by Souths and is expected to take his place for his club on Saturday night as they host the Raiders.
« He’ll fight (for a spot), » Fittler said.
« I think he’s playing this week, he got named, so that’s good. He’s been in such good form, so there’s a couple of pretty good players in front of him. »
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