Noble finish
COACHING LEGEND BRIAN: LET’S GIVE GRAHAM AND O’LOUGHLIN THE SEND-OFF THEY DESERVE
BRIAN NOBLE has urged fans to revel in seeing two rugby league legends go head-to-head in one last brutal hurrah.
Wigan captain Sean O’Loughlin and St Helens firebrand James Graham will retire after Friday’s Grand Final.
It’s a battle royal that their former coach Noble cannot wait to witness – his only regret is that it will be the last time to watch the two superstars in action.
Noble (right) said: “Both of them have been iconic and I cannot speak highly enough of either of them.”
Loose forward O’Loughlin is the quiet assassin who shuns the limelight – whereas redheaded prop Graham is never afraid to speak his mind.
But Noble says the two warhorses have the same win-at-all-costs mentality needed for superstardom. He said: “I know ‘Lockers’ can go to the eye of a storm and then find a pass and not many can do that.
“He isn’t flashy and doesn’t like the limelight but the highest compliment I can pay him is he tries to be a 10-out-of-10 player
every game and he consistently comes close to that. ‘Jammer’ is different in that he’s a violent, aggressive, smash-your-pants-off player and plays in the front row where you must be reckless.
“But he has the intelligence to go with that confrontation aspect of the game and uses his aggression in the right manner.”
O’Loughlin, who will turn 38 on Tuesday, was coached by Noble at both Wigan and with Great Britain.
Noble added: “He was part and parcel of the reason I went to Wigan. I knew he was going go to be a world-class player. “That’s not to say he didn’t get a few gobfuls from me, and the coaches that followed, but he was always honest enough to learn and get better.
“He has been the single biggest reason why Wigan have won so many trophies in recent years.”
Noble also handed a Great Britain debut to Graham, who rejoined Saints in the summer after a glorious nine-year stint in the NRL.
He added: “Jammer was at the vanguard of Super League players going to the NRL and proved that you can be tough, aggressive and also full of skill.
“My only disappointment about Lockers’ stellar career is he didn’t try his arm in the NRL. He had plenty of offers and he’d have been a megastar.”
Graham, 35, will have to pass head assessments before he gets the go ahead to play in the Grand Final. He was forced off early in Friday’s 48-2 semi-final win over Catalans with a broken nose but said: “I will be fine for next week.”