Simmons calls on his men to fill Graham void

St Helens head coach Royce Simmons is sure he has the quality within his squad needed to cover for the loss of prop James Graham.

Graham, 26, was a solid performer for the Saints in his time in the red and white picking up the prestigious Man of Steel award in 2008 and scoring 52 tries in 220 appearances.

But Simmons is not dwelling on the loss of the England prop to Canterbury Bulldogs in the NRL.

He said: “Someone in there has got to take up where James Graham left off. 

“We’ve got Josh Perry, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Anthony Laffranchi and that challenge is out there to those boys to play the long minutes.”

Graham will join a host of Englishmen who are now playing in the NRL, including Sam and Luke Burgess (both Souths), Gareth Ellis (Wests Tigers) and Michael Worrincy (Penrith).