James Graham & CLF Australia

NRL great James Graham joined the CLF Australia Board of Directors in 2022. James is a passionate and inspiring advocate as he strives to raise awareness and promote education about concussions and repetitive head impacts in contact sports and is keen to find answers and solutions to make sports safer for all. 

James has firsthand experience having played almost 500 games of professional rugby league representing England and Great Britain as well as playing 186 NRL games for Canterbury and St George Illawara. He has estimated that he has suffered over 100 concussions and almost 18,000 collisions and while he has some concerns for his future, he acknowledges that more needs to be done to improve safety and education especially for our future generations. James is the first NRL player to announce that he will donate his brain to science.

James has also been a huge support for others who have been affected by post-concussion syndrome and other brain related trauma and has dedicated time to helping those affected and their families. James is eager to further explore the topic of concussion and CTE with the purpose of making a difference. So much so that he has recently released his popular and informative podcast titled Head Noise.

In this podcast series James and co-host Jessica Halloran interview athletes from rugby, AFL, union and Olympic sports as they share their own personal stories and the impacts that concussions and repetitive head impacts have had in their lives. These compelling stories of survival highlight some of the traumatic consequences for past athletes has they come to terms with their struggles and reflect on their journeys.  These stories are truly captivating, and James provides a truly inspiring take on a very serious issue.

We welcome James Graham as a CLF Australia ambassador and are grateful to have his wonderful support.