Graham had a year left on his contract when he met with West Coast coach John Worsfold at the end of the season. Having played only six games that season with niggling injuries, Worsfold told him there would not be many more games ahead. Rather than fight to stay, Graham chose to retire.
"I feel comfortable. I did all that I could," he said.
Graham had come off the rookie list and played 37 games over four years, coming within one week of playing in a premiership team. Now he works a nine-to-five job at an earth-moving company in Perth.
The decision was not purely about his limited playing prospects. Six months before the season, he and Kasey took in Graham's younger sister Candy. Earlier in the year, they welcomed Hudson. The rigid routine of a footballer's life gave way to new responsibilities.
"I used to go off to bed at certain times, do certain things in the morning before games. My whole life was routine, routine, routine," Graham said. "But this year, I would find myself down at the park with the kids and there would be only two-and-a-half hours left before the game. I would look down at my watch and think, 'Hang on, I have got to go.' It was actually good, not to think about everything so much."