Warriors targeting veterans

The Warriors are targeting a double bid for Bulldogs skipper James Graham and senior Broncos forward Adam Blair.

Both players are in the twilight of their careers, with Graham, 31, in his 13th season as a professional while the 30-year-old Blair has 11 NRL campaigns behind him.

Moves for the duo would carry some risk — as it would be hard to predict their form into their 30s — but signing veterans to lead the forward pack is an approach that’s worked before at Mt Smart.

The most famous example was the double signing of Steve Price and Ruben Wiki ahead of the 2005 season.

Price made his Warriors debut just after his 31st birthday, while Wiki was 32 when he ran out for Auckland club for the first time.

But the two old heads delivered tremendous value.

The hope is for Graham and Blair to provide the leadership that is desperately needed by the crop of Warriors cubs in the pack.

Negotiations are well advanced with Blair, who maintains a close friendship with Warriors coach Stephen Kearney, from their Storm, Broncos and Kiwis association.

The Broncos will face some salary cap pressures next year — with plenty of high profile players off contract — and there is also talk out of Sydney that Rabbitohs star Sam Burgess could be lured to the Queensland club for the 2018 season, which would change the face of the Broncos roster.

Graham has one year left on his deal at Belmore and is a proud Bulldogs club captain.

But that was the same for Price more than a decade ago, and Graham may be persuaded to move clubs to secure a longer deal for his final NRL contract.