To appreciate how durable and tough James Roby is, you only have to watch footage of him popping a dislocated finger back into place during a Super League game, then demanding the ball the next play.
Roby is the 37-year-old veteran who will play game No.523 for St Helens in Saturday’s World Club Challenge.
Plenty of people consider him England’s equivalent of Cameron Smith.
Former teammate James Graham told the Herald last week Roby was the greatest player the Super League had ever produced.
Considering Roby plays nearly 80 minutes every week, it means he has likely punched out 41,760 minutes of first-grade football.
St Helens marathon man James Roby.Credit:Gregg Porteous/NRL Photos
If you take into consideration he makes about 45 tackles a game, that adds up to nearly 23,000 tackles he has completed.
Mitch Kenny, the Penrith dummy-half who lines up opposite Roby at BlueBet Stadium, respectfully pointed out he was starting kindergarten at Arndell Anglican College in Windsor when Roby made his Super League debut in 2004.
“It will be a highlight for me going up against him – he’s the ‘GOAT’ of the Super League,” Kenny said.
But back to that night last May against Hull FC. Roby went down, signalled for the trainer, grimaced in pain when the finger was popped back into the joint, then soldiered on. He grabbed the ball, somehow forced a dropout, then politely declined all high-five requests from teammates.
Roby smiled when the Herald reminded him of that incident this week.
“A lot was made of it because it was caught on camera,” he said.
“But we’re used to playing hurt and carrying injuries. You have to show resilience in this game. Luckily the physio was there and popped it back in, and off we go.”
Kristian Woolf was in the coach’s box that night and said he made a point of showing that clip at the team’s review session a few days later.
“That gave a glimpse of the standards [he upholds] all the time,” Woolf said.
“He’s extremely humble, he’d hate the fact there is any focus on him, and would hate the fact we’re even talking about him now.
Nathan Cleary and James Roby pose ahead of Saturday’s World Club Challenge.Credit:Penrith Panthers
“But he is without a doubt one of the best players I’ve had the opportunity to deal with – and he’s definitely the best leader I’ve dealt with.”
Woolf won three titles with St Helens before he returned home to Australia to work with NRL newcomers Redcliffe under Wayne Bennett.
Bennett was a big fan of Roby after he coached him with England. “James is a 10 out of 10. If he was in Australia and done what he’s done, he’d be in the Cameron Smith category,” he said.
“He’s a very humble bloke, a very committed team man, and nobody gives more than what he gives.
“He wouldn’t know what a bad game looked like. He’s like the Roger Federers of this world where they might be having a bad game, but you wouldn’t know it because their standards are so high.”
Roby had a couple of chances to try his luck in the NRL, first with the Roosters after he toured with Great Britain in 2006, then with Parramatta in 2013.
Roby has had a couple of surgeries on both ankles a decade ago, a bit of maintenance work on his shoulder, elbow and groin, and “five or six dislocated fingers”, which he knows will leave him with arthritis.
Even in the twilight of his career, Roby refuses to miss any game time or training sessions. Royce Simmons, the Penrith legend who coached St Helens in 2011 and 2012, once tried to convince Roby to enjoy a week off and only return for the captain’s run, only to be told in no uncertain terms that was not an option.
“He gets ready to play by working hard and training hard and wanting to be around the boys to help get them ready,” Simmons said.
The lack of major injuries has helped Roby with his longevity. So, too, his genuine love for the game and St Helens, he says.
“I enjoy myself, I’m at my home-town club, the connection I’ve got and the love I’ve got for St Helens, and being a part of a winning culture – generally at St Helens we win more than we lose – that’s magic,” Roby says.
“You go to training after a win and everyone has a smile on their face on the Monday morning, and you can attack the week. That becomes contagious.
“Hearing 522 games doesn’t sound final. I’m still going. I’m still chasing [St Helens record-holder] Kel Coslett’s record [of 531 games]. I’m content with what I’ve done, but to finish last year, it just didn’t feel right, so I went again.
“This has to be it [this year]. I might need someone to tell me to stop. A part of me will always want to be the competitor.
“I don’t want to go too far and risk something serious happening. After my rugby career, I want to live an active lifestyle, and I’m pretty sure I’ll substitute rugby for some other physical challenge like ironman, marathons or triathlons. I love the idea of that stuff.”
The man Roby replaced, Kieron Cunningham, is a St Helens legend, and even has a statue erected outside St Helens’ home ground.
Roby is bound to have his own statue in good time. He would be proud knowing his children – and eventually grandchildren – could one day walk past a bronzed effigy of himself on game days. He is even happy for any statue to capture him in his later career without hair.
“I probably look tougher without it,” Roby says.
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