The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Opinion

Is Ricky Stuart a weak, gutted coach or an old dog unable to learn any new tricks?

Roar Guru
7th August, 2022
Advertisement
Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Roar Guru
7th August, 2022
67

Ricky Stuart’s post-game press conferences have long been a thing of legend, the source of headlines, amusement and multiple fines, but his performance on Saturday after his team turned up their toes against a depleted Panthers side was one for the ages.

What did Ricky think he was going to achieve with his unprecedented personal attack on Penrith’s fill-in, Jaeman Salmon? Did he think it was somehow going to help his team in their increasingly forlorn bid to make the finals?

Did he think it was the right message to send to his team? Did he think he was going to get away with it? Did he think at all? The answer to any of the questions posed beginning with “did he think” is a resounding “no”.

Sports opinion delivered daily 

   

I’ve been following rugby league and other sports for longer than Ricky’s been alive, and I can’t recall a similar incident where a coach of an elite team verbally attacks a player from the opposition.

No doubt there have been some, and I’m sure one of our many correspondents will point them out, but this was totally unprecedented even for someone that so obviously wears his heart on his sleeve as Ricky.

I wonder if the Canberra legend would have launched a similar attack against a fellow coach, a referee, bunker official or NRL administrator?

Advertisement

I think not, although he has previously suffered from foot in mouth disease, even leading to the end of his tenure as Kangaroos coach in 2008 after verbally spraying match officials the day after Australia lost the World Cup final to New Zealand.

(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

Following that disaster, Stuart apologised, was heavily fined and then fell on his sword, leaving the door open to continue his coaching career, but if early reports are to be believed, Stuart’s not backing down this time around, and is standing by his rant.

Funnily enough, it was only a couple of months ago that Stuart said he was “lost for words” after the Raiders’ second-half capitulation to the Warriors.

Even after the controversial 2019 grand final loss to the Roosters, he said: “You all saw it. None of us here will be commenting on that tonight. It’s not the time to talk about it.”

Perhaps he should have run that deflection again on Saturday instead of opening this very messy can of worms, as I suspect that some defamation lawyers are meeting as I write this to determine the likelihood of Salmon taking action against Stuart, and what their share of the settlement might be.

So, where does this leave the Raiders club, their fans, the team’s finals aspirations and the players who look to their coach for guidance? Surely the club can’t continue to be tainted by Ricky’s brush every time he has a brain fade, and surely the players deserve better than a coach who increasingly resembles Mr Hyde rather than Dr Jekyll.

Advertisement

How can any Raiders player be sanctioned for their actions going forward if this is the example set by their coach?

Ricky looks tired and increasingly more gutted every time the Raiders let victory slip from their grasp. He’s been at the Raiders for nine years now without success, and alarmingly is contracted for two more, so perhaps it’s time for a new coach with both a fresh mindset, and some new ideas to take the reins.

I wonder if the Raiders board have had that telephone hook-up yet to determine whether Ricky has their full support?

close