Not necessarily. If I open a box and find a beetle it doesn't give me any grounds to believe all boxes contain beetles. It may come as a surprise to you, but "Burnout" is a psychological condition - not a physical one. And like all psychological conditions it is poorly understood. The malaise is commonly associated with extreme stress, depression and a variety of other - what you might term negative - emotional states. If we agree that there is such a condition then the probability that an individual will fall victim to it is entirely dependant on his psychological makeup. And no two are ever the same. We have no way of knowing whether Graham is likely to fall victim. He could well play the same way right into his thirties.



There is no doubt that Stuart Fielden experienced an alarming slump in form just when he should have been in his prime - and, barring the odd rally, he has remained there ever since. "Burnout" is the popular explanation. But it's not a certainty. He might well be suffering from injury - perhaps a damaged back (Paul Groves' career nosedived similarly because of such), or groin (Hanley, Sculthorpe). These were [ichronic[/i conditions which, whilst treatable with palliative care, could not be cured and seriously degraded each player's abilities right up to retirement. I am not aware that Fielden is suffering from such an injury - but this is not proof of nonexistance. Choosing to become a professional sportsman doesn't mean you must make your medical history available for public viewing.



Returning to burnout through depression and/or stress, it is worth recalling what Fielden's home life was like when his form began to dip. You may or may not know that he was acting as one of or the primary carer(s) for his father, who was terminally ill with Motor Neurone Disease (the same condition that Stephen Hawking suffers from). I have witnessed the ugly effects of this disease up close and it is not something to be taken lightly. Witnessing the complete physical breakdown of a person whilst knowing he or she remains consciously alert - locked inside a prison of his own body - is heartbreaking. In its terminal stage the patient can be almost completely paralysed. Only the purely autonomic functions remain (heartbeat, brain activity etc.) and eventually even they succumb. In many cases death is through slow asphyxiation. It is not surprising that both sufferers and their families campaign vigorously for the right of assisted suicide.



Fielden could not have gone through such an ordeal without coming out of it a different person - with different priorities. It's part of being human. Bad enough to experience the death of one's father. The torment of witnessing a protracted - dignity robbing - illness must be exponentially more difficult to bear. We're talking about [ilife-changing[/i events here that can completely remodel a person's psychological landscape. Perhaps he no longer felt as driven as he used to (it's no co-incidence that many scientists do their best research when they're between the ages of 20 and 30, when life appears less complicated and the only priority is their work). Or perhaps he simply fell out of love with the game.

Graham still seems to be suffering from that chest injury he got on the opening day of the season against Hull. He seemed to be clutching his chest a fair bit especially later in the game and he looking in a lot of discomfort.



Still a fantastic player even when he did look hurt.

Do people fall asleep when you talk? I just had 40 winks after reading that. You are a good cure for insomnia.

Somebody call a medic! I've been SHOT!

Git.

Excellent, well structured reply.



If Graham can feels like he can do it, let him. He is arguably the best prop in the league whilst playing plenty of minutes, why change things? He could pick up a chronic injury playing 1 minute a game or 80, unfortunately these things happen. There are plenty of world class props who played similar minutes and had long and illustrious careers.



It's funny how people always use Fielden as the example, when in his prime he played in a team with the biggest pack I have ever seen in the game (featuring the likes of Jamie Peacock, now Leeds' main battering ram, in the second row), no wonder he was smashing through a fatigued defence every week.

An excellent and interesting post which I enjoyed reading, but where do you find the time to write posts this long and this involved?

The guy is a machine Fact!

With Jammer I think we are looking at a unique player who thrives on a superior work ethic, he,s not an impact or battering ram type of player, he has an excellent technique of making yards and momentum. I can see further improvements in his game in the offloading and passing departments.

He always makes me laugh when he walks off the field to the bench, the one I always remember was when he put the "Death Stare" on Daniel Anderson becomes Jammer thought he had been rested too early.

It's called - The Dole.

Fozzard has been doing the job at Saints asked of him.

He takes a lot of the early pressure off James Grahams shoulders.



Infact in terms of meters made he has made 418, only about 48 less than Vella at Hull KR.

Fozzard has however made more tackles and also missed fewer tackles than Vella.



I suspect therefore that it was a case of Justing Morgan not knowing how to correctly use Fozzard.

What was Jammer's meterage yesterday?