Zac Graham back in business with Kangaroos

Graham only played one game in the shortened season for the Wagga club last year but has been handed the captaincy by new coach Simon Woolford.

With work and family commitments, Graham didn't return to the field after playing the season opener against Brothers.

He takes on the same outfit at Equex Centre on Saturday but this time around is ready to rip into a full season

"I just played the first round against Brothers but then work got really busy and I've got a young family as well so I pulled the pin on last year," Graham said.

"Now I've got work going so I'm back into it. I missed it last year, missed being around the boys and the fitness side of it."

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He's also returning to his preferred role as hooker

Graham has become a makeshift half for the past few seasons at Kangaroos and is looking forward to getting back to dummy half.

"The year I played half was when he had Glenn Dumbrell there," Graham said.

"I was happy to play nine that year but I'm stoked to be back in the nine as I feel a lot more comfortable there."

Graham has played very little football in the last 18 months.

He sat out the end of the 2019 season after being heavily concussed in a nasty incident against Temora, which saw Zach Starr suspended for nine games.

While the break has given plenty of time to recover it wasn't a big factor in not committing last year.

However he's also excited by the opportunity given to him by Woolford to lead the club.

The former NRL player has been impressed with Graham.

"Zac leads with his actions, has been around Roos for a long time now so the club obviously means a lot to him and you know what you're going to get out of him every week," Woolford said.

"He's a good talker, when he talks he makes a lot of sense, he's had an uninterrupted pre-season so we thought he was an obvious choice for our captain."

Graham hopes it can translate on the field starting with the big clash with Brothers after their strong recruitment drive.

There has been plenty of player swapping between the two clubs this season, which just adds to the occasion.

"There is no other game you really want to win as a Roos player," Graham said.

"You want to beat them and beat them convincingly."

Kangaroos only won one game last season but they've been busy ona the recruitment front with plenty of new faces in the side.

Combined with Woolford's arrival after two seasons coaching in the English Super League, Graham feels the club is in a better place.

"Simon has made a massive difference to our club and the players we've got across have really jumped on board," he said.

"I'm really excited for what the season has to hold for us.

"We're still building but we're starting to get a few juniors coming through to step into roles with first grade and reserve grade, which is good for the club."