James Graham's gone, but not quite forgotten down Belmore way. Not least of all by David Klemmer, the man he "nurtured" in the NRL. Top dog, spiritual leader and all that - "my captain" Klemmer calls him - he's still going to drive in the gates for day one of pre-season when this is all over, isn't he?
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Klemmer knew he would probably have to line up against him this week in a tasty World Cup opener. But to do it again next year when Graham dons the famous Red V of the Dragons? That might be a bit harder to stomach, the salary cap scapegoat with a point to prove.
"When he announced it, it was pretty hard, especially being my captain," Australian prop Klemmer said. "He nurtured me coming through first grade. How the club was working at the time ... it was pretty disappointing how everything worked out."
And it might be even more difficult to take if a Graham-inspired England make Australia's World Cup defence a whole lot trickier with an opening-night night win at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Friday night.
Wayne Bennett's best hope might be a bash-and-barge boilover. There's Sam Burgess. Rugged Raider Elliott Whitehead. Captain Sean O'Loughlin. And crafty No.9 Josh Hodgson. A pack that will fancy its chances of matching anything Mal Meninga trots out.
Then there's Graham, just with a little point to prove.
"Every time I watched him play for England he's been close to man of the match," Klemmer said. "He represents that jersey with passion and pride, like he does with every jersey. My first Test match was against him.
"I think anyone that represented the Bulldogs this year was pretty disappointed, especially him being the captain of the side. We had to sit and watch the whole finals series and not play football which we all hated.
"I love playing footy and he loves playing footy so to get back out there to play footy again we'll be real eager, especially him because he's got a lot to show and there's a lot of footy left in him.
"He's a fiery man and it's good for the game as well. Seeing him do that ... it lifts his teammates. We know what we're in for. It's exciting. I can't wait, [but] it's going to be weird [playing] him."
Klemmer will also reunite with Burgess, who infamously came to blows with the Bulldogs behemoth during a match in last year's Four Nations.
World Cup referees are not compelled to send players to the sin bin for punching as per the NRL, but Klemmer stressed the international game won't herald a return of the biff.
"It happened and I can't see anyone going out there to start fights," Klemmer said. "There's a lot to lose.
"You can still get sent off for fighting or for 10 [minutes]. Then you put the pressure on your team and you need to go out there and do your job and play footy."
The Kangaroos' path to the final will likely head through New Zealand if they are upset by England, who could feature as many as six NRL regulars in their 17 for the much-anticipated clash with Australia.
"Across the park in that forward pack they're world-class," Klemmer said. "They're a tough passionate side.
"We played them last year and they were very big men and hard to handle. We're going to have our hands full and it's going to be interesting."