James Graham isn't biting when asked about that biting incident. Because, even two years on, it's too painful to talk about.
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In the corresponding game two years ago, the Canterbury prop appeared to bite the ear of Melbourne fullback Billy Slater. Mayhem ensued. Graham subsequently protested his innocence, Des Hasler backed his player to the hilt and the matter went to the judiciary. When the English prop arrived for his hearing, he was confronted by an Englishman, going by the name of Osama Bingilly, sporting a Hannibal Lecter outfit.
At the hearing, one of the most controversial of all time, Graham was found guilty and handed a 12-match ban. As he prepares for another grand final, Graham is adamant the pain of the loss to the Storm is greater than that generated by the biting fallout.
"For me personally, it was 100 per cent the loss," Graham said. "I don't really want to go into that too much because I've never really opened up on it and I don't think now is a really good time. For me losing was just devastating. That year in '12, on reflection, we were going so well and it was so disappointing. Credit to Melbourne, they were unbelievable that day, they did so well to perform at that level in the biggest game of the year. It's a credit to their club."
Slater is adamant he was bitten. Graham maintained his innocence. But the Dally M prop of the year bit his lip when the subject was broached in the lead-up to the grand final against South Sydney. "I'm just not going there," he said. "To be honest, I can't be bothered and I can't see the point. There's really no point, there's no benefit to me, no benefit to the team. It's somewhere I'm not prepared to go."
Graham was more expansive about the pain of losing to the Storm on the biggest day. It was the sixth straight grand final loss after suffering defeats in five consecutive Super League deciders with St Helens. "Obviously it still hurts but I don't think we'll be using it as motivation," he said.
"A lot of the personnel have moved on and we're just doing it for this year. If you question any player from any of the 16 clubs you'd feel like they would justify why they should be there on Sunday, a lot of training goes in and everyone trains hard. You find a bit of form at the right end of the year and hopefully we can take that into game and continue after it.
