So I go away on holidays and miss the very public meltdown of Ricky Stuart. Great! I’ve been waiting for that for years and then the very moment I turn my back, something goes snap and Stuart goes from the code’s self-proclaimed thinker to having the mental stability of a shirtless man screaming at passing traffic about the upcoming Armageddon.
‘Stuart goes absolutely berko’ was hardly the sort of headline you’d never thought you’d read. But I couldn’t help but feel partly responsible for it.
Funny how, though, after weeks of press coverage, the actual change in language is fairly small. It goes from ‘Ricky Stuart is committed’ to being ‘Ricky Stuart should be committed.’
Having watching Channel Nine’s coverage of rugby league over the past few years, I have been witness to the very open testing of a man’s grip on reality. I started worrying that had I not tuned in, Nine might have taken a more hands off approach to save this man’s dignity.
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
No other coach had the camera rammed in his face as they scowled on the sideline. But then again, no coach turned their water bottle into a bubbling mass of boiling liquid through the intensity of their grip after 34 seconds of match play or started kicking chairs if a player didn’t run a decoy down the blindside on the third play of the match.
You knew Stuart was combustible, if not deranged, but you couldn’t help watch.
Sometimes you’d finish a game feeling like you’ve just witnessed a re-enactment of the film SAW, such was the torture Stuart’s men put him through as they played out their eighty minutes.
No wonder his players sometimes looked like they were heading to the gallows rather than a half time orange.
But surely none of this was a clue to the fact that within eighty minutes, a man would go from a job for life to raving about conspiracy theories. I almost expected him to attend his mea culpa briefing wearing a hat fashioned of aluminum foil to stop his enemies reading his mind.
However, in an era of “alcohol fuelled incidents” there was almost something sweet about a man snapping merely from the pressure of his own mind rather than that of a carton of throw downs with bourbon chasers.
But as a word of warning: I don’t think anyone should allow Stuart near a Sudoku puzzle and heavy firearms until he is given a full bill of health.
I wonder where Stuart will go from here: will be get all new age, never wear shoes and leave team selection down to his collection of coloured crystals? Or will simply up the ante and start taking players’ families hostage until victory is secured?
Either way, I hope it is just as entertaining. We could well be seeing the creation of rugby league’s own David Icke.
Derm
Roar Guru
Funny that, I thought Rio and Geoffrey did.
Steve Kaless
Guest
Ian, An Aussie cultural problem? I hardly think so. That would be like saying England could be summed up by the antics of Geoffrey Boycott or Rio Ferdinand.
oikee
Guest
Well i hate to prove you 2 guys wrong, but like most points i make, time will tell. Lets have this talk again say maybe 2 years , see if we still are making same comments. If i am wrong i will apoligise, but the bomb is ticking.
Benny R
Guest
The Link - I agree 100% with you. From what I hear of a mate who know knows well, Des doesn't live and breathe football 24/7.
The Link
Guest
oikee, fan of your posts, but you couldn't be further from the truth re Dessie. Intense yes, but a quiet family / conservative man with zero ego. He'd get the witches hats out and do 400's by himself to get the tension out, not carry on like Sticky.
oikee
Guest
Steve, i think we should have sacked the aussie public not stuart. All-Blacks come to mind anyone.? The pressure of the publics perseption of how good their team is what i think gets us into trouble. I knew Stuart was under pressure from the word go, we had every man and his dog saying they are unbeatable, (except me of course) and Ricky in the back of his mind like me, knowing that it only takes a team with the will and want to succeed to be your down-fall. Yes i blame Ricky for the aftermath, this he created. Some people think Des Hasler should be coach, hello, dont you see another Ricky in the making right there. ? Big Mal should be coach, he has been their, done that, and knows that one slip-up at top level is all that it takes to lose the big one, he was right there along with Stuart the day we nearly lost a 3 test series. The difference is Mal would handle a loss better. I think we need to allow for more loses to be a good team, winning all the time only makes a loss so much harder, so much more bitter for one and all. Aagin look at the All-blacks, still the best but a loss is getting easier to except.
Ian Noble
Guest
Steve Is it an Aussie cultural problem? If I recall Ian Millward was sacked by St Helens for an outburst of foul and abusive language, for the love of me I can't remember the circumstances. It is a preception that Aussies tend to be more liberal in the use of foul language and wear their hearts on their sleeves so the outburst by Stuart, was it really that surprising?
Steve Kaless
Guest
Ironically, this whole episode will simply increase the pressure on him next year with the Sharks. Not good when you are still looking to break that duck.
Billo
Guest
Stuart reminds me of Brian Smith. Both coaches try to control everything, and they end up controlling nothing. They end up with teams that are as highly strung as they are, and when they suffer setbacks they can't handle it. Coaches like them can go 90 percent of the way, but they rarely reach the tape.
sheek
Guest
To paraphrase Monty Python, "Stuart is not mad, he's just a very naughty boy". Spiro, couldn't have said it better, except..... I thought Stuart was a very good player, rather than a great player. It's semantics I know, but Stuart was below the very top rung in his playing days. He ousted Allan Langer on 2 Kangaroos tours in 1990 & 94, but otherwise, Langer was almost always top dog.
Eljay
Guest
Steve, that is one of the funniest pieces I have read in eons! Wetting myself here in Desert Adelaide. I was always a bit suss on Ricky: the heavily flared nostrils give him away. Anyway, congratulations and good luck luck dodging the writ!
Worlds Biggest
Guest
I wish Gus " The Analyst " Gould was on this blog. I wonder what he would write about this ??
The Link
Guest
'However, in an era of “alcohol fuelled incidents” there was almost something sweet about a man snapping merely from the pressure of his own mind rather than that of a carton of throw downs with bourbon chasers.' Great line Steve. No other coach imposes his will upon sides more than Ricky and it shows. Witness the Sharks and Kangaroos capitulation on the big stage, he has them red lining for long periods and its like they lose through exhaustion rather than lack of skill.
Midfielder
Guest
Jerry What about Bozo and the cement truck he coached Manly for years.
Jerry
Guest
Sir Alex Ferguson could hardly be described as laconic and he's managed a decent run...
Spiro Zavos
Expert
Steve, the first law of journalism is: never go on holidays as something big is always going to happen when you are away. Ricky Stuart's explosion or series of explosions after the World Cup defeat of the Kangaroos was always going to happen some time or other. He is too intense, too in-your-face, to be able to contain his emotions until he gets home and can kick the cat or the front door. This raises the issue of what is the best temperament for someone who wants to have a long career in the coaching game. The explosive types like Stuart, Alan Jones and so trend to have an initial quick success and then find that their teams implode under the constant hectoring and lecturing. The laconic types, provided they are shrewd and insightful about their game, tend to have the longer, more successful careers: Vince Lombardi, Jack Gibson, Wayne Bennett ... There is also the consideration too that great players rarely make great coaches.