Ricky shouldn’t have said it. Everyone knows Ricky shouldn’t have said it. Hell, even Ricky knows that he shouldn’t have said it.
He put out a statement on Sunday to say he regretted “what I did on that platform after the game. I was speaking as a father and not as a football coach”.
What he’s referring to is calling Panthers five-eighth Jaemon Salmon a “weak gutted dog”.
“My reaction was to a family situation that I thought I had dealt with, clearly I haven’t. I allowed my emotions to get the better of me and for that I am very sorry,” he said in Sunday’s statement after Saturday night’s spray.
“There is a history between Jaeman Salmon and my family that I will not go into. I should not have brought it up after the game, but it just got the better of me. I am truly sorry that I have caused my family and the game unwarranted attention.”
But why did he say it? Because he was upset and couldn’t help himself. Obviously.
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Not only had his team just been outdone by a side missing three of their best players, they are now in serious peril of missing the finals for the second year running.
To top that off, he witnessed an opponent lash out and kick one of his players in the genitals. As it turns out that player and Stuart have an unpleasant history.
We are all hearing versions of what occurred back in the Sutherland Shire more than a decade ago, undoubtedly infected by a mixture of hearsay. While it all sounds pretty horrid, there are very few people who will know the precise story.
As Stuart has now acknowledged through his apology, that history really shouldn’t have entered into it.
As a coach, Stuart is known for making some pretty frank statements.
So why on earth would he front the press when he was carrying this kind of emotional baggage and was such a known risk for blowing up?
Because he had to. Do you really think he would have been in front of the cameras to say it if he wasn’t made to be there?
It is pretty clear the last thing any coach – not just Stuart – wants to do after their side has been beaten is to front a press conference.
However, the NRL Operations Manual stipulates that both before the match and afterwards they must front the broadcaster’s cameras.
It doesn’t matter if they are really upset or angry.
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
It doesn’t matter if their side was just flogged and they are on the verge of getting sacked.
It doesn’t matter if their side was just robbed of victory by blatant failure on the part of the officials.
They have to go and they have to talk. If they don’t then they get fined. And the fines are big. So Ricky had to go.
The broadcasters love drama in press conferences. They want the coaches to go off. They don’t mind at all if the coach cops a huge fine for criticising the refs or calling out an opponent.
It gets viewers. It drives column inches in newspapers, clicks online and mass involvement on social media platforms.
In an ever shrinking industry, the media bosses don’t make money from giving a crap about the coaches, players or clubs involved. They need viewers and clicks in their endless pursuit of advertising revenue.
Speaking from personal experience, the media love people who can be relied on to provoke outrage and consternation. They love the Arthur Tunstalls, Anthony Mundines and their ilk. They’d go and ask them questions well outside each person’s expertise – such as Tunstall his views on Cathy Freeman carrying the Aboriginal flag and Mundine his thoughts on 9/11 – then they’d wait for the clicks, comments and the purchases of the outraged to inevitably roll in.
It is like shooting fish in a barrel, as evidenced by the papers, radios and TVs being loaded with personalities whose key role is seemingly to provoke outrage and division.
It is into this media reality that the NRL mandates coaches must front the cameras, often in the wake of events they will have found very upsetting.
Somehow the punters have gotten into their heads that not only must a coach be excellent at recruitment, leadership and strategy, they must also be consummate media performers.
The truth is most have little to no idea about the media beyond the basic training the club gives them before they are hurled in front of the microphones. Yet there is this expectation they will perform like media veterans.
That expectation is ridiculous. Club CEOs cross their fingers and pray before every post-match presser that their boy won’t go off half cocked.
Meanwhile, the media is wishing for the exact opposite.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
While Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien’s recent comments in regard to his credentials were surely welcomed, Stuart is currently the coach most likely to provide the media with the best content. Smart coaches like the Wayne Bennett’s of this world give the press nothing when the cameras are rolling, but some coaches have a much harder time restraining themselves.
Make no mistake, the media just loves Stuart going off. In my lifetime he is the most divisive coach I can think of.
If you love him – like I do – you love him completely, warts and all. If you hate him – as so many of you do – you hate him with a passion and intensity usually only reserved for a lover who jilted you.
And there’s the key word: passion.
Whatever you think of Richard John Stuart AM, no one would dare argue he wasn’t passionate.
And while it is that passion that drove him to lead a football club from the lowest ebb in their history to a Grand Final appearance in just five years, it is also that passion that sees him get a bit loose verbally on occasion.
The media is aware of that risk. The NRL is aware of that risk. His club is aware of that risk. Hell, HE’S aware of that risk.
But, regardless of the risk, the NRL Operations Manual stipulates he must turn up at the post-match press conference and talk.
However, you need to also consider that the NRL Operations manual also stipulates this: “At all times Trainers must enter and leave the field as quickly as possible (i.e. running) without interfering with play.”
While quite a few coaches – Stuart included – have been fined for not talking at post-game press conferences, I can’t think of one instance where a trainer has been fined for not leaving the field as quickly possible.
In fact, the Roosters trainer Travis Touma was not fined or sanctioned at all for interfering with the play in the 2019 Grand Final.
So it could be argued the NRL basically picks and chooses which rules it will enforce, and the above example shows it could be argued that choice could have more to do with what its broadcast partners want post-game and not things that actually impact the game play itself.
Further, you have to question how many workplaces would insist its employees – or those at their behest – would front the press when there is a high likelihood that they might not be able to contain their emotions and run themselves onto the rocks?
That would be seen as akin to a dereliction of care in pretty much any business.
Every bear must submit to post-game poking from the media. And then unsurprisingly the bears sometimes lash out.
And then that becomes the story on TV, in print and on social media.
And then the fans in the stands, on their couches and behind their keyboards scream with outrage and demand the bear is soundly punished.
And then the very same NRL HQ that ordered that all the bears must get poked post-game, fine and sanction the bear.
And the bear is then in shame. What a transparent and pathetic joke it is. Just leave the damn bears alone.
It’s hard enough when the team that you put your heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears into gets beaten. It is harder still when these ex-rugby league players have to then front a predatory and empathy-barren media straight afterwards.
Or if you do insist on this arrangement messers V’landys, Abdo and Annesley, then also enforce with the same vigour the other rules in your almighty Operations Manual.
You know, the ones that actually affect the game play and not just those that treat it as a saleable entertainment product.
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Banana
Roar Rookie
Tim, thanks for the interesting article, I think the press conferences are fine as they are, but we should have more compassion & support for the coaches, instead of expecting perfection. I know I’m late to the party here, but I think the recent sad news yesterday adds weight to your argument. While we don’t know the circumstances, the pressure on coaches can be immense. We should all take a bit more care with what we say. Everyone here so eager to vilify and destroy Ricky for his behaviour, I think should have a rethink. We’re all so eager to vilify and destroy public figures who make mistakes, I’m disgusted with some of the comments and frankly ashamed to be a Roarer. How much is enough, calling for them to lose their jobs, what’s next destroy their families, destroy their lives? Make a mistake (which he most clearly did, no question!), apologise, take the punishment, learn from it and move on. The rest of us, not in the public eye, have some perspective, get off the moral crusade high-horses. Don’t forget all the charity work he does, he’s most clearly not a bad human, I know many, many worse people than Ricky. He’s flawed, as are all of us no doubt. The eagerness with which we seem to want to destroy people makes me feel sick.
Chas
Roar Rookie
I'd like to see the NRL and, in fact, all other sporting bodies crack down on the term 'Dog shot'. Our dog is a lovely bloke, loyal, trustworthy and dependable who would put his life on the line for any member of our family. And apart from a couple of toileting mishaps, he has never really put a foot wrong. Also, as he would tell you, the shoes/pillows/cushions/beanbag were all past their use by date anyway.
adam smith
Roar Rookie
*Genuine question Tim, where was your outrage & support for under pressure coaches, before Sticky’s latest outburst?!?!
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Bottom line is, would Ricky have coined his phrase had Raiders won by 20 ? Very doubtful isn't it, which just underlines it all as the sore loser in him coming out again, nothing else.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Yes, the Darius interview was up there with the best, but probably outdone by Wayne, by far the more senior yet often shows as no more mature. His post matcher v Penrith mid 2020. 1min of questions, 15seconds of answers total.
Joey
Roar Rookie
Spot on Tim The NRL "management team" a very quick to fine the coaches for breaches. They suspend and fine players for violations of the rules. They stand down refs who stuff up. Fair enough. But they never punish the trainers who break the rules every single game. The trainers ruin the spectacle of the game. It is meant to be a team sport: thirteen players a side. Not thirteen plus an ORANGE dude loitering beside the fullback and a BLUE fella controlling the play from the halves. Punish the trainers for breaking the rules and leave Ricky (and other coaches) to just call it like they see it.
hicksi
Guest
May I point out that his attack was in answer to a specific question from the floor. I would hazard a guess that the questioner was waiting for the explosion.
Sparkles
Roar Rookie
all the hope in the world won't change the facts - Ricky Stuart has demonstrated repeatedly over the years that he lacks the ability to keep control of his emotions at moments when the organisation that employs him needs him to. If you have a player on your team who cannot control themselves when needed they are a liability, not an asset - would you say that Ricky's emotional volatility is an asset? Does his lack of control get in the way of making smart decisions when needed, such as deciding who to send and at what time during an important match? Ricky needs to reflect on this unedifying episode and grow, and with all due respect you should too Tim - a Coach being required to do a presser after a game is in no way analogous to segregation or white australia or asbestos or any of the other long bows you've drawn. You, like Ricky, are letting your emotions get in the way of objectivity
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
I don’t think he was defending RS. He suggested that the press conferences should be postponed for a time to give coaches time to cool off. The problem with that is that Stuart is the only coach that can’t handle himself in the conference. Ricky has some mental issues to deal with.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Promote the assistant coach and drop Ricky to an assistant coach. He can be one of the back room boys and use his League knowledge in a positive way.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Don't go feral on me. Pointing out false equivalents is bringing a torch , pitchfork and kangaroo court ? ? I accuse you of one thing only. A poor argument.
Muzz
Guest
Ricky Stuart is an embarrassment to the sport. Press conferences are part and parcel of a NRL coaches highly paid job. They literally take 10 minutes of his time. Defending his actions only makes you look bad!
Tim Gore
Expert
That’s a reasonable idea indeed
Tim Gore
Expert
Maybe you will. Sammy Williams was pretty good though. Thanks for taking the time Noel.
Noel
Roar Rookie
Understood, Tim of course. I wasn't accusing you of conflating such things. It just irks me somewhat that on a conversation largely caused by emotional overreaction, we are throwing around wild references if little or no comparative value. Ten years ago there were tackles celebrated in the game that would now warrant a send off. Twenty five years ago, some of our playing heroes had a dart at half time. Times change and we don't move forward unless we can evaluate our actions with objective eyes. None of that required such emotive references. I just thought the impact of your point, or anyone else's, is devalued by such useless comparisons/analogies/illustrations. But honestly, and I reiterate, I love your contributions on this site almost without demur. And I appreciate you take the time to respond to people. You're copping some flack on this one, but you're not ducking it. That at least warrants respect for what that's worth, coming from me. Look forward to hearing you on the radio at the next Raiders home game.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Kenty has already given some feedback on NRL tonight Pete on why Ricky behaved the way he did. Apparently there is a lot to it than meets the eye - and more members of Ricky's family appear to be involved - but Ricky doesn't want to air any more details - which seems fair enough. But I think we are all on the same page that Ricky shouldn't have aired it at the press conference. Sounds as though he will get a one week suspension and a pretty substantial fine from the NRL. Hopefully he learns from this.
Pomoz
Roar Rookie
Thanks Tim, while I don’t agree with your point of view, this was an interesting, thought provoking article offering a different insight into the incident. The critical question you pose about whether coaches should front the media after the game is easy to answer. League is an entertainment business, it is part of their job. It is not unreasonable to expect coaches to do so even 20 minutes after a game. Yes, Wayne Bennett, that includes you. I love Wayne Bennett but he has got this part of the game all wrong and let’s himself down with his taciturn, grumpy manner. As to whether it’s a safe workplace depends on the person. The Raiders have a duty of care to select somebody who is capable of doing the job, which includes media commitments. That is not the NRL’s remit, they have no role in choosing, preparing and training coaches. If they put somebody in the role who can’t cope then it is up to the Raiders to take action to remedy it. If you’re looking to fill a paratrooper role, it’s best not to hire somebody scared of heights.
Ian_
Roar Rookie
I don't think anyone would accuse the NRL of being consistent, or indeed, competent. Doesn't excuse Ricky's behaviour though. That said, I think the press conferences are pretty pointless. But the people with the money that enables coaches and players to be paid handsomely demands them. I think there's an argument for coaches to be given a free pass or two a season, to cater for situations where emotions might get the better of them, like where a game deciding ruling was controversial. They might then opt to send an assistant out to speak on the club's behalf.
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
Matth, Great comment, I have to say I never considered the "lives on the internet forever" part of this sad event. On thinking further based on your comment, I wonder if RS should have a future in the game? Is that too far?
Ian_
Roar Rookie
I wouldn't say Ricky is forced to do it. He signed a contract willingly and it would have spelt out all the standards and expectations of him. Don't like some, negotiate them out, or don't sign up. Can't negotiate them out, you then have to decide whether you can suck them up and deal with them, or go find a different job. Like most of us, I'm sure there are things in our jobs we'd prefer not to have to do, but we are expected to do them professionally to the best of our ability. Want to coach but can't hack the press conference bit. Easy, just like players who can't handle the scrutiny and behavioural expectations, you always have the option of coaching/playing park footy. Ricky could always go coach the Queanbeyan Blues.