Fed up Canberra coach Ricky Stuart complained of representative player inequality after a hat-trick to St George Illawarra captain Brett Morris helped to smash a 14-season NRL hoodoo in the nation’s capital.
Stuart followed up Saturday’s 34-16 NRL loss at Canberra Stadium with another classic post-match media conference, lamenting his lack of representative firepower to match the Dragons.
He pointed out six of the Dragons’ seven tries were scored by State of Origin or international players, with three going to Morris, two to Kiwi Jason Nightingale and one to ex-Raider and NSW star Josh Dugan.
He added they were running off two great internationals in Benji Marshall and Gareth Widdop in the halves – while the Raiders had just wrecking ball Josh Papalii representing them in Origin or the Four Nations.
“I’m not trying to make excuses. I’m just trying to tell you exactly how it is,” Stuart said.
“Josh (Papalii) knows himself he needs a rest. He’s our only representative player and we can’t leave it all hanging on him.
“Every fan and every supporter have been jamming into us, and they can bag us, but until I get Origin and international players in around that group of blokes there, it ain’t going to change.
“I’m getting sick of it – I’m getting fed up with just giving you the old one liner.”
It was Dugan who came back to haunt the club who sacked him last year, kickstarting a second-half comeback with a barnstorming try.
Four more Dragons tries followed in the final 30 minutes, leading them to their first win at Canberra Stadium in 14 seasons, and just their third against the Green Machine in 20 outings.
“It was good to belt out the song,” Morris said.
More importantly, it also keeps the Dragons’ finals hopes alive, snapping a two-game losing streak to be just one win outside the top eight.
Despite the blown-out scoreline, the visitors had to do it tough, and were dealt a big blow when captain Ben Creagh was ruled out pre-match with a slight hamstring tear – but is expected back next week.
And the Raiders weren’t short of spark either, fullback Jordan Rapana impressing in his first home game with 147 metres and a try.
The Raiders also started strongly, Papalii storming his way over in the second minute.
But the Dragons hit back immediately through Morris, who burrowed over from dummy-half, before crossing again from an overlap.
The Raiders earned a 12-10 lead at halftime through Rapana’s try, then extended that lead after the break thanks to Jarrod Croker’s 17th try for the season.
Yet the Dragons weren’t done, Dugan and Peter Mata’utia crossing to steal a two-point lead, before Nightingale jagged a pinpoint Marshall cross-field kick.
Morris then picked up his third, and Nightingale his second, with the duo scoring spectacular acrobatic tries in the corner within minutes of each other to finish in style.
“My last try, you don’t really have anywhere else to go but up,” Morris said.
“I was lucky enough just to sneak it in there.”
Raiders interchange Mitch Cornish was put on report for a crusher tackle on Morris in the second half, putting him at risk of missing next week’s clash with fellow wooden spoon contenders Cronulla.
spruce moose
Guest
Ken, Penrith have no rep players, and are finishing fourth. Penrith also have challenges in drawing top shelf talent. Penrith play in outdated facilities. They face the same problems as Canberra....but the coach is the difference. One whinges. One searches to improve. Melbourne won't have too much trouble getting the players into the club in future seasons. 1. Great facilities at the clubs disposal. Canberra's are abysmal. 2. Warmer weather. I know, its not Canberra's fault, but it doesn't help. 3. A vastly better city to live. Red Hill or Brighton? Hmm...now that is a toughie. Canberra never ever really attracted big name players. Most of the heroes of Canberra were juniors in their zone or signed up by the raiders when they were 18 (Stuart, Daley, Clyde, Lazarus, Furner, Croker, Mullins, Negas etc). Meninga was a pull from the QRL. Sadly, there is no x-factor within the raiders establishment that will lure players to the team. They certainly don't have a coach that can pull in the players. Their CEO is a cronyist. Their stadium is a joke. Their membership base are fickle. Canberra is stuck in the middle of nothing. Melbourne don't have those problems.
Ken
Guest
It's a whinge, and not one that should be relied upon by a first grade coach, but it's not without some truth. Apart from a glorious decade in the late 80's/early 90's, Canberra have obviously had difficulties attracting top line players (and also keeping their homegrown ones but that's a different problem). A worrisome thought is that we might be looking at the future of the Melbourne Storm - their first decade and a half is surprising parallel to Canberra - a 'remote' outpost which within 6-7 seasons of establishment had a solid contingent of the best players in the game, but what happens when they retire? Can they replace them?
Charles NSW
Guest
The Dragons finally got that hoodoo off their back and about time! They are improving with their attack but will need to strengthen their defence! Ricky Stuart needs to keep his mouth shut as his constant whinging is getting over the top!
MAX
Guest
The truth, simply expressed is always a pleasure to read. Your moniker would indicate a sense of humour. Canberra needs a squad of players with the same attitude as J. Croker. 'Marquee' is dominant in the thinking of coach Stuart. One meaning of the word may seem to be unkind to Ricky...a large tent used for entertainment. "Circus Canberra" Most genuine RL supporters would love to see the talent on hand at Canberra being moulded to its full potential. Three to five years is a long wait.
sham
Guest
Some coaching jobs are much harder than others as despite the salary cap there is no level playing field. Third party deals alone mean that it is not a fair contest. What this means is that if you coach the Raiders then you are going to have to get the best of players who may not get a start at the Broncos. I think that Ricky Stuart is a good coach but I really question whether he is the type of coach to get the best out of players who will not get picked up by the glamour clubs and who will not get praised to the hilt by commentators. Maybe he can do it we will see next year. The question is not whether the Raiders win but whether Canberra is getting the best about the players it has. Some players have improved this year but some seem to have gone backwards. The coach’s job is to build confidence and work with the talent he has access to. Watching the Raiders yesterday it seemed to me that almost all the tries that the Raiders conceded came from the way their compressed defensive structure works. Simple overlap tries come from scrums and as happened so often to the Raiders this year the opposition wingers had a field day. Blaming these tries on the Raider's wingers is not fair. Defending on the wing for the Raiders won’t make you look good. There are technical issues with the Raiders defensive structures and the insider players and the team as a whole does not slide well at times. If they keep defending this way look for opposition wingers to get loads of tries.
The Barry
Guest
All to familiar bagging of Stuart. I was reading the team sheets yesterday and thinking the raiders team were full of nuffies. A few of them might have potential but it's not a first grade standard squad. Ricky can't be blamed for that in season 1 of his contract. He hasn't had the opportunity to build his own squad yet.
Brother mouzone
Guest
Sounds like an all too familiar rant.
Free Kick
Guest
A very talented if inconsistent playing roster with an abysmal coach, his record with Parra and Cronulla mirrored this year. Most teams with few representative players gather a few premiership points during Origin time when the better teams are under strength but Canberra under Ricky just aren't playing as well as they could, time to throw the big bucks at Laurie Daley because he will get some star power to the Raiders.
The Minister
Guest
Last words while walking the plank. Guaranteed to be Stuart's last coaching gig in the NRL. The guy is bereft of humility and completely shameless considering his position.
Zee
Roar Guru
TRUST Ricky Stuart to be the manager that watches StI break this 14 year hoodoo
Ben Miller
Roar Rookie
I feel for the Raiders but that's a dumb excuse. Maybe Ricky should give Ivan Cleary a call.