St George Illawarra captain James Graham insists trailblazing referee Belinda Sharpe should not be treated any differently to her male colleagues, revealing he will call her ‘sir’ if the pair cross paths on an NRL field in the future.

Sharpe will make history on Thursday night when she becomes the the first on-field female referee to officiate an NRL fixture.

The Queenslander has been a touch judge in the NRL since 2014 and has refereed Intrust Super Cup matches.

She will partner senior ref Ben Cummins at Suncorp Stadium in Thursday’s Round 18 clash between the Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury Bulldogs.

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Graham, who is as old school as a modern-day rugby league player can be, raised eyebrows on Tuesday night when he declared he would address Sharpe with the same title as male whistleblowers.

“If it happens (Sharpe refereeing a Dragons game), when it happens, I’d say sir because that’s what I’ve been used to,” Graham told Fox Sports’ NRL 360 when asked how he would refer to a female ref.

“It’s the only place in society where I address people as sir and that’s been instilled in most of us since we were eight years of age.

“I think it would be hard to change in the emotion and the chaos of a rugby league field to be thinking about my language that I use.”

The fiery Englishman was famously suspended for three games in 2015 for his infamous Good Friday tirade aimed at referee Gerard Sutton.

The then Canterbury captain was penalised for taking out the legs of South Sydney half-back Adam Reynolds.

He was subsequently suspended for one week for the hit but unleashed on Sutton at the time, inflaming tensions among angry Bulldogs fans as the Bunnies stole victory at ANZ Stadium.

Graham has mellowed slightly both on and off the field in recent years but doesn’t believe Sharpe will be afforded special treatment by NRL players in the heat of battle.

“I don’t think she should be treated any differently whatsoever,” Graham said when asked if players will behave better with a female referee on the field.

“It’s an emotional game at times and I don’t think it matters who’s in the middle or what gender they are.

“I just hope we’re not talking about her next week and I hope she has a good game.”