Inside the NRL: James Graham suffers concussion

Jenna Brooks has the latest from the NRL as player movement continues to dominate headlines, James Graham suffers concussion, plus Australia suffer some significant injuries heading into Friday's Test with New Zealand.

Graham Concussed

James Graham suffered a head injury in the Bulldogs' six-point win over Canberra on Saturday.

The Bulldogs captain was ruled out of the game after failing a head injury assessment following a concussion suffered in the 14th minute.

The England international will face a head-knock review this week, but is expected to play in Saturday's Test against Samoa.

The Bulldogs also lost Josh Reynolds just before half-time to a hamstring injury. The five-eighth will be sidelined for two to four weeks.

Player Movement

Reynolds' injury comes just days after he confirmed his decision to sign a four-year deal with the Tigers to make way for Aaron Woods.

After weeks of speculation, Woods' move to the Canterbury Bulldogs is official. The Wests Tigers captain has signed a four-year deal at Belmore, keeping him at the club until the end of 2021.

Woods, who will make the move at the end of the season, told Fox Sports that he felt let down by the Tigers.

"The club's got no stability. We didn't know who the long-term coach was going to be yet at the same time they wanted us to agree to a three or four-year deal," he said.

"It was one of the hardest decisions of my life. Had you asked me at the start of the year, I would have said I'd be a one-club player at Wests Tigers. I never looked at any other club."

Woods' arrival next year has raised questions over Graham's future at the Bulldogs. The England prop is under contract until the end of next season, but Woods' arrival in 2018 puts Graham's place with the club in doubt.

Kangaroo Update

Woods suffered a hamstring and groin injury in the Tigers' 22-16 defeat to Cronulla on Saturday. The injury rules the prop out of Australia's Test with New Zealand on Friday.

The extent of Woods' injury is still unknown, but he is expected to miss the next few weeks, with Andrew Fifita replacing the Tigers captain in the Kangaroos squad.

Johnathan Thurston didn't play for the Cowboys on Friday as he continues his recovery from a calf injury, but the star half-back still has a chance to play for Australia.

Thurston successfully got through a solo training session on Monday and, if he can survive a field session on Tuesday, it's almost certain he will start against New Zealand.

"I'm feeling pretty good. The session I did this morning was high intensity, and I didn't feel any soreness or anything from it like I did last week," Thurston said.

Shannon Boyd has been ruled out of the Test with a lower leg injury, sustained in Canberra's 16-10 loss to the Bulldogs.

Gallen Returns

Paul Gallen will step out of representative retirement to captain NSW City against Country on Sunday and the Cronulla captain hasn't ruled out returning for NSW in the State of Origin.

"That's up to Laurie (Daley) if I'm required. All I can do is go out and play good for my club," Gallen said. "I'm happy with my club form at the moment so I'm not too sure."

Laurie Daley, the NSW coach praised the Cronulla skipper: "I think Gal's a wonderful player and he's playing really well at the moment. Who knows what's around the corner."

Daley said: "He's played some really good footy. He's an inspiration player and his numbers are as good as they've ever been."

The City-Country fixture has been around since the 1920s, but over the past 10 years has come under criticism from both players and coaches and therefore Sunday marks the final time the historic match will be played.

Melbourne Dominate

There was a top-of-the-table clash on Sunday when St George Illawarra hosted Melbourne. It was the Storm who came out on top, winning in Wollongong 34-22 for the first time since 2005.

The Dragons were without injured captain Gareth Widdop who looks set to miss the next five weeks with a knee injury.

Suliasi Vunivalu, Josh Addo-Carr and Billy Slater all scored two tries each to help Melbourne complete the win to move four points clear at the top of the ladder.

Slater was awarded man-of-the-match, but it was skipper Cameron Smith who achieved a significant milestone. With his 943rd goal, Smith broke the record for most goals scored in NRL history.