Amid much hope from Raiders folk and plenty of scepticism from his critics, Ricky Stuart took over the coaching reins in Canberra at the start of the 2014 NRL season.
The appointment followed a dismal stint at the helm of Parramatta in 2013, where the club managed just the five wins, conceded 740 points and claimed an inglorious wooden spoon.
Just a few years earlier, his time at Cronulla had ended disastrously and prematurely late in the 2010 season, with fractured relationships at board, staff and player levels making his future at the club untenable.
Both clubs were in turmoil, some would say chaos, at the moment Stuart rode into the sunset, with winning records of 21 per cent at Parramatta and 42 per cent at the Sharks completely unsustainable.
Only his first stint at the Roosters between 2002 and 2006 had brought anything of note in terms of coaching success, with an instant premiership in his first year, then some solid seasons, before the club was well in decline by 2005.
Just like his demise at the Sharks, he departed the Roosters prior to the official end date of his contract.
Now, with the Raiders sitting second to last on the NRL ladder after five rounds of the 2023 season and with pressure mounting on the coach, a continuation of the pattern does not seem beyond the realms of possibility.
In attendance for the Raiders’ clash with the Panthers last Friday night, aside from the 53-12 shellacking dished out and the sheer dominance of a typically well-drilled and organised Penrith side, the most significant thing that was apparent from the contest was the frustration of the fans in the outer directed towards their coach.
Sure, Jordan Rapana was responsible for one of the worst games ever played by an NRL winger, the Raiders were without key man Jack Wighton and the Panthers are a heck of a good team, yet the Canberra fans were vocal each and every time their coach appeared on the big screen, seething at the ineptitude of their team and his certain role in it.
The Raiders struggled against the Panthers without Jack Wighton. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
Thus far in 2023, the Raiders have lost to the Cowboys, Dolphins, Knights and Panthers and managed just a lone win against the Sharks, where Cronulla scored the final two tries of the game and were close to stealing the two points based on late momentum.
There are a stack of quality teams to face in the short-term future, with the unbeaten Broncos in Brisbane this Saturday night followed by a home game against the hot-and-cold Dragons before the bye in Round 8.
They are at home to the surprise packet Dolphins before an extremely difficult stretch against the resurgent Bulldogs, Eels, Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs which will decide the fate of their season.
Stuart comes across as a gruff man; someone prepared to get into the trenches and fight hard with his players. An admirable quality indeed. Yet he also is seemingly incapable of rolling with the punches and accepting the good with the bad and realising that, in the end, things probably do work out fairly across the long haul.
Undoubtedly robbed by the most appalling of refereeing blunders in the 2019 Grand Final, Stuart appears to have been determined to prove a point, failing to replenish his squad; to modernise and add what was required in order to match pace with rugby league evolution and thus remain relevant.
Ricky Stuart (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
The Raiders, renowned under Stuart for a power game ignited by big packs that laid brutal platforms, now look slow, cumbersome and playing a style that has since been filed away by other teams.
Whilst there are plenty of new names in the squad, few look to have true quality. Hanging on to club stalwarts like Jarrod Croker, Elliott Whitehead, Josh Papali’i and Rapana, as well as the re-signing of Nick Cotric are moves full of club spirit, loyalty and trust, yet potentially harmful to the regeneration required to be competitive.
Perhaps Stuart was determined to avenge 2019 so much, that he simply ignored the modern necessity to make a few tough calls along the way, in order to be ready for what lies ahead.
After four finals appearances in nine seasons and a winning rate of just 51 per cent, a continuation of the Raiders’ early-season form could well signal the end of Stuart’s time as head coach of the Raiders, even considering he has a contract until 2025.
Should things continue as they are right now, the big question will be whether he sees out the remainder of the season or once again, is frog-marched from office in failure.
Geo
Roar Rookie
Few coaches have the emotional link to the Raiders “powers that be” like Ricky does. They won’t sack him as they would someone else. He’s a great man, who is so stubborn that trying to prove people wrong is more important than anything else.
Geo
Roar Rookie
He was a fantastic player. He may not have been a good sport, but he was damned good.
Geo
Roar Rookie
The people around Sticky can’t stop him being absolutely pig headed. They get replaced instead of the real problem, Ricky, moving on. Ricky is brilliant for the club irt making money but he’s loyal to players for way too long and his strategies are prehistoric. Crash ball for 5 play’s then pass it to some of the least imaginative halves in the NRL. Need some of the 6 foot 3 inch 100 kg guys on the wings that most good teams have. Cotric is super slow, Rapa is crazy, HSS needs a long rest etc etc.
Tim Gore
Expert
As I said last year when the vultures were circling after a poor start, also partly as a result of injuries. https://www.theroar.com.au/2022/03/24/rickys-raiders-just-need-some-luck-theres-no-need-to-panic/ Unlike Mr Thomas’ Wests Tigers, the Raiders don’t just punt the coach when things get rocky. Didn’t last year at 2-6 and went to the second week of the finals. Write the raiders and Ricky off at your peril.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
You wonder how long it will take for something to change at the Raiders. Ricky has had a couple of cracks at rejuvenating the squad. Does he deserve a third crack? There were some obvious deficiencies exposed in the spine when Josh Hodgson left along with CNK for family reasons. There was no back up for Savage at full back this year - apart from Jordan Rapana - and Jordie has said himself that he is too old to be playing full back. When Savage gets a long term injury in a pre season game he places Seb Kris at full back when he has never played there before. Incredulous. How can that be allowed to happen? The replacement for Hodgson is Starling/Woolford - who are both having a crack but aren't up to Hodgson's ability. No attempt to upgrade in the off season. And Jamal Fogarty was s;lected tpo provide direction at 7 but that was sadly missing against the Knights and Penrith. Jack Wighton seems to be having to do it all on his own in the halves. The deficiencies in the spine is something that Ricky has allowed to happen on his watch. Its ridiculous. The Raiders have a great forward pack and some decent backs when they are all healthy but the spine is a real concern.
London Panther
Roar Rookie
I was re-watching the game from the weekend and something that struck me was the messages out of the sheds from half-time. Apparently Ricky’s message was ‘stick close and we’ll get em in the backend when Paps and Taps come back on’. Must have been motivating for the players lining up to head back out for the start of the second half…
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
Madge Maguire getting ready to move into the big office ?
Nat
Roar Guru
He wasn’t such a great sportsman when he was on the field.
the outsider
Roar Rookie
Similar descriptions exist for Bennett. Cranky, good man manager but no great strategy. Perhaps Ricky needs some new assistants? Surround yourself with talented people
Full Credit to the Boys
Roar Rookie
Maybe less time being ‘filthy’ at everyone and everything, less time spruiking dumbo ideas like players self-regulating their concussion when they have concussion, and less time chewing that frigging gum and showing what a total stress head he is. He is such a bad sportsman after being such a great halfback.
Dionysus
Roar Rookie
You are right however STuart is a stand out in that regard. I have never liked the man. As Randy says, he has little on the strategic side not offering very much in terms of an innovative game plan. His man motivation is exceptional as long as things are going well but if they aren't going his way then he is quick to find a scapegoat. A prolonged period of under performance (like the raiders are now going through) often brings out the worst in Stuart resulting in his man motivation turning distinctly negative. The Bateman & Williams episodes clearly outline this character flaw in Stuart. He seems unable or unwilling to accept a painful decision for what it is and seems to take these things very personally. I suspect that Stuart is a really nice guy in everyday situations. Someone who can be charming and considerate but I do not think that he is suited to the job of Head Coach even if he has been in the role a long time.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Making the 8 last season masked the fact that they have too many players who are well past their best. I thought Cotric was a poor buy for the Dogs and said so at the time. He was great early in his career but he's been a non threat for ages now. Rapana actually came good for a while but is still way past his best when he was a major threat. It's time for Ricky to consider his future , a fresh approach is what's probably needed.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
Ricky has a pretty long history of blaming external factors (i.e officialdom) and finding excuses to protect his players from criticism. It also means he fails to face reality when they stink. And if you can't face reality when you are doing certain things poorly, you can't fix them.
Dutski
Roar Guru
To be fair though, most coaches leave because they get the spear. Very few move of their own volition.
Randy
Roar Rookie
Stuart is very good man motivator and players seem to want to play for him which are great qualities. Tactically he is quite poor though and seems to lack ideas. Even in 2019 when we made the grand final our attack was mostly plodding relying on crash balls and individual flukey brilliance more often than not. We were just a very scrappy side who fought incredibly hard on every play. Could be a long season for the Raiders, I don't ever see Stuart being sacked though... He'll be left to make the decision himself but perhaps he might be pushed a little.