Famously humble
Mark Graham is the first New Zealander to be inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame. Just don’t expect him to make a big deal of it.
Even when he officially became a great, former Kiwis captain Mark Graham was thinking of others.
Graham, 62, is humbled by his upcoming induction into the NRL Hall of Fame that was announced this week, but instead of popping the champagne corks to his own success he is busy reflecting on the people who moulded him into a rugby league legend.
He said his induction was a proud moment personally but an honour that should be credited to everyone who had helped along the way, from his junior coaches and management to his fellow Kiwis players.
‘‘It’s not like I’m a tennis player and I just go out there and do it myself,’’ Graham said.
‘‘I came through in a pretty tough old era and learnt the tricks of the trade on the way through, and I was surrounded by not only good players but also some wonderful coaches – especially in Graham Lowe.
‘‘This is most probably a tribute to them as much as it is an honour for me. I’m just a product of what they taught me.’’
The first person Graham – who was crowned New Zealand Rugby League’s player of the century in 2007 – called when he got the news was his old Otahuhu coach Lowe.
‘‘I said to Graham Lowe that this is an award for him also.’’
Lowe described that phone call as deeply emotional and one of the nicest moments he has had in rugby league.
‘‘It’s Mark Graham’s moment, nobody else’s moment, but he still took the time to ring me and said he wanted to thank me for my guidance on and off the field,’’ Lowe said.
The pair first met around 1972 when Lowe was coaching the Otahuhu eighth grade side and
Graham Lowe on Mark Graham
Graham was playing rugby at St Paul’s College.
The following year Lowe was in charge of the third grade side with Graham as his star player.
‘‘I’d never made a rep side in my life. It wasn’t until I went to senior football that things started to happen for me,’’ Graham said.
Lowe said fellow players always held Graham in the highest regard. ‘‘He just has that aura about him. Special doesn’t even begin to describe him.
‘‘On the field, he would push himself forward and expect the same of others.
‘‘He was so dominant. His thinking and his playing was beyond what anyone had ever seen. He was just unbelievable,’’ Lowe said.
Graham started with Otahuhu before a premiershipwinning stint under Lowe at Norths in Brisbane. He then went on to play 145 matches for the North Sydney Bears and finished his career at Wakefield Trinity in England.
He played 29 tests for the Kiwis and was captain in 18 of them.
He coached the Warriors for two NRL seasons in 1999-2000.
Graham, who is proud to be the first Kiwi to be inducted, is one of six players – alongside Cliff Lyons, Steve Menzies, Ricky Stuart, Gorden Tallis and Petero Civoniceva – who will be inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame next month.
Graham, who has been based in Gladstone, Queensland, for around 12 years, has been humbled by the response to his Hall of Fame induction.
‘‘It’s been unbelievable. I’ve been on the phone literally all day. There’s been hundreds of calls and texts.’’
‘‘Special doesn’t even begin to describe him.’’