Graham relishes Demetriou's NRL wisdom

Others, including Brad Fittler, Craig Bellamy and Ivan Cleary, played some time at centre but still had more than half of their games in other positions. 

NRL players are accustomed to taking advice from those who used to play in the spine - 30 of the 51 coaches spent the majority of their careers there.

So when Demetriou took the reins at Souths this season, Graham was eager to learn the tricks of the trade from someone who made the centre spot his own across 150 professional games.

"(Demetriou) can shed light on his own experience," Graham told AAP.

"There have definitely been little tips along the way, even things like tackle technique and tackle selection in certain positions of the game, which has helped me immensely.

"He's one of the smartest footy heads I've ever come across."

It's not just Graham's defence that has developed under Demetriou.

The 23-year-old is averaging more metres than in any year prior and has made more try assists, despite injury restricting him to only 17 games in the regular season.

Demetriou said he especially admired Graham's ability to muscle up when the Rabbitohs were on the back foot.

"When we have the ball, he is one of the best yardage carriers in the game and he's one of the best best yardage defenders in the game as well," he told reporters.

"His ability to pick the (opposing) back five up and run them and get our team on the front foot defensively is huge."

Graham missed last week's Allianz Stadium opener against the Sydney Roosters through concussion but returns to the side for Sunday's elimination final rematch.

"It was a game last week that I wanted to play in and I'd been eyeing it off for a few weeks," he said.

"But in the context of things, we had a bigger fish to fry this week.

"I'm very excited. I've got a big crew coming to watch. I can't wait."

And Demetriou is backing Graham to have a big game.

"He's made for finals as I've said before, and that Origin type of footy," he said.

"He is that kind of player."