Influential Cronulla halfback Jeff Robson proved to be just what the doctor ordered out in the Shire after his welcomed return on Saturday saw the Sharks win their first game of the season against the Warriors.
Robson, who missed the opening month of the season due to an odd combination of facial and calf injuries, provided much-needed direction in a side coming off the back of a hiding from the Newcastle Knights.
While his pinpoint bomb to Nathan Stapleton for the winger's third try of the afternoon was one for the highlight reel, the 31-year-old also demonstrated that he was the key to halves partner Todd Carney's man of the match performance – Carney producing his best performance of the season by a country mile.
"He slows a lot down, makes everyone know their role and makes things a bit clearer because he’s steady," Graham said.
"He steadies Todd [Carney] up who’s a really fast player, because if there’s no-one there to control Todd, it’s hard to stay on his level because he’s sees things and does things faster than most other people can people.
"That’s what 'Robbo' does – he steadies the ship and makes others around him better."
Speaking of his partnership with Carney, Robson modestly said he was just there to do his best and credited his forwards for laying the platform for the halves.
"I pretty much only trained with the side twice this week ... but when I came back in I said to [Carney], 'How do you want to run the team?' and he said, 'You just come in and put the plays on and I'll play off the back of it’ and it worked pretty well for us today," Robson told NRL.com.
"I just try to do my job the best I can and I think that suits Todd because he can sit back and just play the footy that he sees."
With Robson playing in the NRL for the first time this season on the weekend, he admits that he doesn't enjoy watching the Sharks from the sidelines - but was happy with how his return panned out.
"It was very difficult with me being injured in the trial game – I was pretty disappointed about that. At first I thought I was going to be out for 12 weeks ... but I was lucky to come back after six weeks and I'm just happy to be back playing," Robson said.
Robson, who missed the opening month of the season due to an odd combination of facial and calf injuries, provided much-needed direction in a side coming off the back of a hiding from the Newcastle Knights.
While his pinpoint bomb to Nathan Stapleton for the winger's third try of the afternoon was one for the highlight reel, the 31-year-old also demonstrated that he was the key to halves partner Todd Carney's man of the match performance – Carney producing his best performance of the season by a country mile.
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"He slows a lot down, makes everyone know their role and makes things a bit clearer because he’s steady," Graham said.
"He steadies Todd [Carney] up who’s a really fast player, because if there’s no-one there to control Todd, it’s hard to stay on his level because he’s sees things and does things faster than most other people can people.
"That’s what 'Robbo' does – he steadies the ship and makes others around him better."
Speaking of his partnership with Carney, Robson modestly said he was just there to do his best and credited his forwards for laying the platform for the halves.
"I pretty much only trained with the side twice this week ... but when I came back in I said to [Carney], 'How do you want to run the team?' and he said, 'You just come in and put the plays on and I'll play off the back of it’ and it worked pretty well for us today," Robson told NRL.com.
"I just try to do my job the best I can and I think that suits Todd because he can sit back and just play the footy that he sees."
With Robson playing in the NRL for the first time this season on the weekend, he admits that he doesn't enjoy watching the Sharks from the sidelines - but was happy with how his return panned out.
"It was very difficult with me being injured in the trial game – I was pretty disappointed about that. At first I thought I was going to be out for 12 weeks ... but I was lucky to come back after six weeks and I'm just happy to be back playing," Robson said.
