Okay, hands up. Who of you has ever been of the conviction that Ricky Stuart can’t coach?
Come on, now. Be honest…
Have you ever opined with all the certitude you can muster over keyboard, practice putting green, or magnificent seventh schooner, something along the lines of “Ricky Stuart can’t coach”?
Perhaps you thought it self-evident.
Back-to-back wooden spoons at the Sharks and Eels. An angry, seething creature in the coach’s box.
Didn’t Parra and Cronulla come good once he’d gone? Didn’t Australia lose to New Zealand in the World Cup final?
Hell, even the Blues won Origin once he’d left.
He came to Canberra in 2014 and the Raiders finished second-last. Next year they were tenth.
And what of all those players – James Tedesco, Anthony Milford, Michael Ennis, Kevin Proctor – who didn’t want to be there? That, surely, confirmed the perception that Stuart was too angry, too intense, too freakin’ frightening, man, to be a coach in this National Rugby League.
“LOL,” you tapped into Twitter. “He can’t coach! He must have pictures of someone, haha. [Devil emoticon.]” And: [Send].
And if you’re now nodding along and remembering that you once believed – perhaps even still believe – those things, for they seemed self-evident, then, well, there’s only one way to tell you but… you were completely wrong.
Completely wrong then. And completely wrong now.
Because the ‘Ricky Stuart can’t coach’ thing, the accepted group think, the meme, whatever?
It’s bullshit.
And not just because he’s got the Raiders humming into the finals with a bullet, the people’s favourite, the hottest team on the planet right now, a deep squad of hard-heads and speed-men and tricky types who’ve all bought into The Way of the Rick. No.
And not just because Canberra is my team, these plucky, long-suffering Bad News Bears whom some fat cat in a suit wanted to wither on the vine, and who now have their best chance of Green Machine glory since ’94.
And not even because it’s fun to stick it up nay-sayers like old mate and say, ho-ho, you got that one quite wrong didn’t you, fatty-chops? What have you got to say about that?
(Though admittedly that is quite enjoyable.)
No.
Instead, it’s simple. Ricky Stuart can’t coach? It was bullshit then. And it’s bullshit now.
Because if you’re an NRL coach, you can coach. You haven’t been plucked from the hill at Leichhardt.
NRL coaches, they’ve all got the same stuff. They use the same sports science, the same wrestling coaches, skills men, ice baths, all that.
They look at the same video, access the same stats and study the graphs from those GPS things in the back of the jumpers.
And thus they come to the same conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of Team X they play this week. And thus they formulate roughly the same gameplan. That’s why there’s a same-ness about ‘the look’ of games.
So the point of difference?
As Bill Clinton once said of campaigning – ‘It’s the players, stupid!’
The best coach, one club CEO told me, is the best recruiter. The best coach has to see a bloke – let’s say, oh, to pluck a few at random, Jordan Rapana, Joey Leilua, Blake Austin, Jack Wighton, Shannon Boyd, Josh Hodgson – a year or two before his prime. Before even the player knows he could be something good.
And then he has to cultivate that player. Get his head on right (no easy task, given the fractious nature of 20-something warrior man) and get him on message. Then get him fit, train his weaknesses, exploit his strengths. And keep him off the piss.
And there you go – you’re an NRL coach.
If there’s one thing Stuart’s Raiders team is doing, it’s playing to its strengths. They don’t have Johnathan Thurston or Cameron Smith or Sam Burgess rampaging up guts. But they do have players with various different skill-sets.
And they’re letting these people run free.
And that, people, is all on Ricky Stuart.
And if you still think he can’t coach, you and old mate from One Nation need to have a yarn about empirical evidence.
You might say, well, he’s ‘mellowed’ or whatever. And he probably has. He’ll be 50 in January.
But, thing is, Stuart’s been involved in first-grade rugby league since 1988. He’s won four premierships as player and coach. He’s coached 326 first grade games. He’s coached NSW. He’s coached Australia.
If you want to ask Stuart about the capital of Nicaragua or the state of Australia’s current fiscal policy, you’re probably best asking others. But ask him how to play rugby league? I mean, he’d know just about everything. Everything!
Stuart’s problem, as Darryl Brohman said to a room full of Canberra suits a couple years ago, is that “his image stinks”.
He’s one of those – like Mitchell Pearce or Shane Watson, – who’s a target, a lightning rod, for those latter-day, negative, shouty people, ‘the haters’.
And he knows it. It’s why he doesn’t speak to media outside of legislated post-match sessions. As he quipped to a mutual mate, there’d be people who’d howl him down as a fool if he declared Canberra’s footy jumper is predominantly lime green.
Another thing is that coaches are given too much credit for victory and too much blame for defeat.
End of 2013, Trent Robinson was the oracle, this ‘young’ footy coach who’d moulded the premiers. Coach of the year, blah-de-blah.
Of course, he’s done plenty right to get the side into the final and to win it. But fact is, he won the comp because he had a bunch of key players at their peak, and they all came good at the same time. And there were lots of them.
Pearce, James Maloney, Anthony Minichiello, Micky Jennings. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was on the wing. And their pack of forwards – with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Sam Moa thundering about like vikings – were all meat-eating madmen. The Roosters of ’13 were shit-hot. And Robinson was ‘Coach of the Year’.
And this year he’s not.
The difference?
Players, stupid!
Look at Michael Maguire, end of 2014. He was this brilliant coach, there were feature profiles about him. He wrote a book about the Rabbitohs’ year, that’s how good it was.
And this year? What do you think? Can he coach or not? If he was a great coach then, is he a great one now?
Look even at the acknowledged ‘Supercoaches’, Wayne Bennett and Jack Gibson. Bennett treats his players like favourite nephews, and obviously knows how to win games of rugby league.
But his squads have always been full of really, really good players. That’s been the main criteria. Hell, I could’ve coached the ’92 Broncos, and I was a 22-year-old rugby-playing piss-pot.
The Dragons in 2010? Again, look at the squad: Jeremy Smith, Beau Scott, Jamie Soward, Matt Cooper, Mark Gasnier, Brett Morris, Ben Hornby, Jason Nightingale, Ben Creagh, Darius Boyd. All at their peak, all fit, all at the same time.
Bennett then went to the Knights, dragged along Darius, Smith and Scott, and a couple other old hard-arses. Willie Mason! And in three years there, even with all Nathan Tinkler’s gold, the Knights finished seventh, 12th and seventh.
Big Jack! The immortal Coach of the Century! Ahead of his time, full of wry quips and quotes and home-truths. Success everywhere – except with a young team of Sharks.
Gibson had three years with Cronulla (1985-87) and they didn’t finish better than eighth. His winning percentage was 43 per cent.
And the board gave big Jack the big ‘Pearce off’. Away to television land he went, never to coach a footy club again.
Know what? The ‘Supercoach’ thing, the whole idea, the concept? It’s a myth.
Ricky Stuart is no myth. And he’s still in there swinging, after all you naysayers have flung at him. An ornery man, for sure. You could even call him tetchy.
But if you want a competitor, someone to scrap until they’ve bled their last, someone who’s more competitive than the US dollar, and someone who knows how to get the very best from a talented young team of league men?
Well, hands up who wants Rick?
Chris Love
Roar Guru
The fact that they are still paying for the small time Ricky Stuart was at Parra (and will be for another two years) might have something to do with Parra holding a grudge. Let's face it. The bloke got handed that Roosters team, of which I have no idea how they stayed under the cap. The fact they didn't win more than one with that roster speaks volumes of Ricky as a coach. To gild that, his last two seasons at the Roosters? They sacked him for a bloody good reason. At the start of the Sharks tenure I thought maybe this bloke can coach. Look how that turned out. Effectively sacked again. Then Parra happened. When it was announced that the 12? Players were told by him they weren't wanted even under contract I said at the time it will take years and years to unravel that mess! And look what happened. Cap sanctions for years because they were trying to hold a team together while paying half a club to play else where. That's what started the salary cap snowball that ended with Parra sacking Todd Greenberg's mate. And the rest is history. My prediction is the Raiders have 2016 and 2017 to win a premiership. By the end of 2017 if they haven't won one they will unravel during 2018 as the players won't be able to stand playing there any longer. Raider wooden spooners 2019.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
Absolutely nailed it on three fronts: The best coaches do indeed let the player's play. There's no doubt he has instilled a great culture at the club. Pretty easy to do that when you are the Raiders personified. Coaches week in, week out are given way too much attention for wins and losses. It's like people think they are out there micro-managing every single player on the field for the full 80 minutes.
Bugs
Guest
Matt, I think you maybe indulging in revisionist history here. The kiwis were never that good. Nathan Fien as the halfback good? The most important position on the paddock and the Kiwis had a guy who couldn't cut it in 1st grade (in that position). A major reason - if not THE major reason we lost that final is because of the imbalanced squad that Ricky chose for the tournament, with a stack of additional backs, but hardly any spare forwards. He picked 4 props - Civoniceva, Kite, Price & Perry - they all played in the opening match, but Perry and Price got injured before the final, and Ricky had to play his only two spare forwards to replace them, and they were both edge 2nd rowers. The result? We got rolled down the middle of the park. Look at the opening game of the tournament when we had our best team on the park, and who was leftover in the squad: Scott Prince Terry Campese Darius Boyd Karmichael Hunt David Williams Craig Fitzgibbons Anthony Watmough So our spare 7 players were two wingers, two halves and a fullback, plus two 2nd rowers. In my opinion, that's a wonky squad, and as the man who picks the squad, Ricky must take some blame here. In regards to your main argument that he can coach, it's fairly clear that he can, at least in the short term. He gets reasonable to good results early (depending on the base he's starting at - see Parra for example), but he, or his team, cannot maintain the rage. Roosters made 3 straight GF's and then fell like a lead balloon. Cronulla got built up to 2008, and then they face-planted. Raiders are being built up currently. Let's see if he can't turn around his legacy by becoming a successful coach over a longer term. Maybe he's just a Brian Smith kinda coach- good at rebuilding, but never can quite make that last step. I hope for the Raiders sake he's learnt some lessons and is ready
Sam Back-Hoe
Guest
I'm not a Ricky Stuart fan, but nor am I a super critic. I've seen what he does in the community and I've heard him speak at non-raiders functions. It's heard to hate him on those grounds alone. I believe that his success this year is due to him building a squad that plays the way he did. i.e. they play it hard, but they whinge and milk and put as much pressure on the officials as they can. Hard to knock it though, because it's working.
Rob
Guest
HaHa.Geoff technically your wrong. Storm played in the game after the Raiders played Sharks, making it shorter. Storm had played in Townsville against Cowboys then back to Melbourne for an overtime game against Rabbits then up to Canberra. The Raiders had just traveled to Cronulla in the same time frame and were probably far more rested than Storm IMO. I don't mind them having some success and crowing about their talented team but realistically they are lucky to be sitting in 3rd.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
Actually its 12 coaches who haven't got their team into the top 4. Think I've said enough.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
You can live in the past if you want but the fact remains there will be 8 coaches who haven't managed to get their team in the top 4 this year and Ricky Stuart isn't one of them.
Jacko
Guest
Sorry McFadden is not a 4. More like a ZERO and Taylor also a ZERO
The EYE-BALL Opinion
Roar Pro
With experience comes credibility - Ricky has none and those ratings are based on past deeds in both NRL and Super League [Robinson & McGuire], and Intrust Cup -[Green] Stuart has 1 premiership, and he would never have won that unless Phil Gould was called in midseason to hold his hand. Throwing a 'mud-pie' in the hope it silences its intended victim is like doing a 'Braveheart' baring of your ass before battle. As the Brits would say - 'is that all you got'.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
You have Trent Robertson with a team sitting in 15th ranked above Ricky Stuart whose side is sitting 3rd! And Bennett with a 10.0 with a team sitting 5th. Are you serious? Sorry Eye Ball but I think you've just exploded your credibility. And by the way I've been going to Canberra home games for years. I'm keeping a lid on crowing about the Raiders achievements until the end of the season but its good to see them in contention.
The EYE-BALL Opinion
Roar Pro
You know it becomes hard to ignore fan loyalty when expressed in terms of objectivity. This post was written by a proud fan, and that is all well and good. But every other team with their own fans all see this competition through their own rose coloured glasses - and then you have the not so loyal fan who is objectivity and can see blame where there is blame. To all you Canberra fans who have been hibernation for nearly 30 years - yes crow by all means, but you are a long way from a premiership. I wrote an earlier comment about the stat plus[s] and minus[s], here is another one - they have one SOO player on their roster. That may change next season as this player group improves. For mine, the player group are a delight to watch when they fire up in attack, the flip side they switch on and off in defence like a broken car alarm. They will finish 3rd and most likely play the Sharks the 1st weekend of finals. If they win that match then you might have something to crow about. If I recall Ennis was a late withdrawal, and any footy fan realises what he brings to the Sharks performance. The Storm victory a week later was impressive and lasted the full 80 mins. But Bellamy knows his team the expected shutting down of Hodgson that night by Smith never happened. Me thinks there was some tactic involved that night. Having Nelson Asofa-Solomona back will also give Paulo and Boyd some nightmares if they meet again. Enjoy the efforts of the season - but Ricky ranks well down the list on my NRL Coaches rankings. Wayne Bennett 10.0 Craig Bellamy 9.0 Des Hasler 7.5 Paul Green 7.5 Trent Robertson 6.5 Neil Henry 6.0 Shane Flanagan 5.5 Anthony Griffin 5.5 Brad Arthur 5.5 Michael McGuire 5.5 Ricky Stuart 5.0 Paul McGregor 4.5 Trent Barrett 4.0 Andrew McFadden 4.0 Nathan Brown 3.5 Jason Taylor 3.5
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
Lest get the facts straight. The Storm and the Raiders had exactly the same turnaround - they both played on the previous Saturday and both had a 9 day turnaround. If they was any guide on how far the Raiders have come that was it. They've beaten all of the other top 4 sides including the Dogs twice. The Sharks had won 13 in a row and then drew against the Titans so I'd hardly say they were in poor form. The only team the Raiders haven't beaten in the top 8 is the Broncos who they played once in Brisbane. They only played the Bunnies, Dragons and Roosters once and they were basket cases for most of the season.
Rob
Guest
Lets just say Ricky has had the luck of the draw this season. Firstly the Raiders have played Broncos, Storm, Cowboys once. They played Penrith, Tigers, Rabbits, Roosters and Sharks in poor form due to injuries and SOO. They played Storm at home on a short turn around and Cowboys missing 6 players during Origin? What happened against Knights? When the Top teams are fit and ready will Ricky stay composed under the pressure? He has a good, big, fit, talented team full of confidence and not effected by Rep team. Ricky can't have wished for a better hand.
Birdy
Guest
I love the '69 GF. One of the best days of my life. Even the bookies stopped taking bets on souths a week out. The media gave us a hammering and as a young kid i was targeted and teased at school and all around my suburb which only intensified as the big day got ever closer. And now , some 50 years later , any mention or reference to that sacred day still brings a smile. So MonkeyMayes , i think I'll second your nomonation of Leo Nosworthy.
Armchair expert
Guest
Please Scott get your facts right. Pay has been with Ricky since 2013 at Parra. Rickys job at Parra was half done when he got a call from Canberra. You may know that the lure to come home where there is extended family was the only reason he left Parra. There is more to life than football, go to the Canberra times website today and have a look at the story regarding Soliola to see the culture that Ricky has built here with this team.
Rob
Guest
I still stand by the mantra Stuart Can't Coach. The Raiders are a very big young talented young team who have picked up some very good players in key positions the others have been playing together for sometime now. SOS has left them with the freshest team in the Comp and they took advantage of a great draw catching many teams at low points during the season namely Sharks, Tigers, Manly, Warriors, and Cowboys( without 6 SOS players). They have hit form and have a confident fit roster but they drew with Knights and have avoid the other top teams most of the season. They are no longer under the radar and coaches will be breaking down their team now. Will the pressure of expectation come in the next couple of weeks and can Stuart get them to play consistently when the pressure comes? I doubt it.
bigbaz
Roar Guru
One of life's little pleasures, hating Ricky.
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Hi Matt When a RL coach holds his hand out for $1m the expectation has to be success and when that is not achieved they are wide open for fair criticism. There is no debate that Ricky’s record at the Sharks (42%), Eels (21%) has been poor, some would say shocking, as he left each club in tatters. Between this he was also sacked as our National and State coach. Just about any other coach would have been banished to the NSW Cup, but Ricky had always been a “media darling” and given rails runs which started when Gus Gould asked him to coach the Roosters in 2002 and told him that he would “assist” him. Ricky told Gus he was not ready but with a hot list and inspired by Brad Fittler, they won the Premiership. Without Gus, Ricky averaged a 25% win record during his last two years at the Sharks and the Eels and incredibly was offered 800k to move to the Raiders with a blank cheque book. Nothing had changed as the Raiders went on to finish 15th and 10th displaying their usual poor defence. So what happened? The Raiders have always been excellent at scoring points, but they have never been able to defend them. Enter defensive coach Dean Pay. In 2015 the Raiders were the 14th worst team for missed tackles and in 2016 they are now the second best defensive team just behind the Storm. When you combine the most tries scored with a great defensive record you have a serious Premiership contender. Ricky, as head coach, appointed Dean Pay and deserves all the credit. The buck stops with him.
Steve
Guest
^^^^^^^^ Eels fan ?
The EYE-BALL Opinion
Roar Pro
Everybody forgets - Gould joined the Roosters to help Stuart out in that Roosters era ...