At first glance, Canberra’s Ricky Stuart and Parramatta’s Brad Arthur are two coaches that don’t seem to have that much in common.
Stuart was a champion halfback who won three premierships as a player with the Raiders, represented the Blues and the Kangaroos with great distinction, and won pretty much every individual accolade that was going during his 13-year playing career.
These days he’s the most outspoken coach in the NRL, appears to have a chip on each shoulder and at least one foot in his mouth, and is regularly fined by the NRL for his unbalanced rants.
His post-game interviews are often more entertaining than the games themselves, and if anyone wears his heart on his sleeve, it’s Ricky.
Brad Arthur, on the other hand, was a halfback who never made it out of the lower grades with Parramatta and Penrith as a player, and was such an ordinary playmaker that he ended up in the back row. He’s not one to make much of a fuss, could easily walk through the streets of Parramatta without being recognised, and is far more likely to be fined for parking than bringing the game into disrepute.
His post-game press conferences are a wonderful cure for insomnia.
However, the one thing these two have in common is that they’ve both just finished their tenth year coaching their respective teams without winning a premiership! Two decades between them and not a single trophy.
Of the current coaches, only Craig Bellamy and Trent Robinson have been at the helm of a club longer than either Stuart or Arthur, and their at the Storm and the Roosters is well known. So just what have Stuart and Arthur been doing this past decade?
Let’s start with the club that hasn’t won a premiership since 1986, a mystical time before most Eels supporters were even born.
Arthur has been involved in the coaching system since 2011 when he was assistant coach to Stephen Kearney, and it was Arthur who temporarily stepped into the first-grade role in 2012 when Kearney departed with six games to go.
He was then appointed to the full-time role in 2014 after Stuart led the Eels to the wooden spoon in 2013, spat the dummy and resigned with two years still to run on his contract.
Parramatta continued to struggle for the next three years with Arthur at the helm, finishing no higher than 10th, but then they broke through for a finals berth in 2017 only to bow out to the Cowboys.
Another wooden spoon followed the next year before they hit a real purple patch in 2019, making it to the finals for four consecutive years, culminating with an ultimately unsuccessful grand final appearance in 2022. They then dramatically slipped down the ladder to finish 10th last season.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Close but no cigar. He has now coached more Eels games than anyone else, coming in with a win ratio of 52.8% across 254 games, but has failed to deliver.
Meanwhile, in the nation’s capital with the Raiders, another club that hasn’t tasted premiership success this millennium, Stuart wasn’t doing much better, taking over the reins in 2014, after the Raiders finished 13th in 2013 under previous coach David Furner.
There was no immediate bounce-back under Stuart as the Raiders finished 15th and 10th respectively in 2014 and 2015, but they finished strongly the following year to come home in second place, only to be defeated by the Panthers in the semi-finals.
They resumed their favoured 10th position in both 2017 and 2018 before going all the way to the grand final against the Roosters in 2019, losing narrowly in what many believe were controversial circumstances.
The next four years saw the Raiders finish in the top eight three times, but they weren’t considered to be serious contenders at any time.
So once again, a single losing grand final finish in 10 years is all she wrote for Ricky. Like Arthur, Stuart has now become the longest serving coach for his club, with 247 games, at the unimpressive win ratio of just 51.7%.
So just how do these two get away with it? Why do their clubs keep accepting failure while at the same time renewing their contracts? Surely, any club focused on winning another premiership before the next ice age should give someone else a go?
Apparently not Parramatta and Canberra fans, and there’s one more thing that Stuart and Arthur have in common – they are both contracted to continue in their roles for the next two seasons. Heaven help the Eels and the Raiders.
Tony Dargon
Roar Guru
Cheers. It's remarkable isn't it, and each with two years to go. Parramatta and Canberra may never win another premiership at this rate.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Good article. I've wondered for years how Stuart and Arthur never seemed under pressure and were constantly pumped up by their mates in the media. I do think with both making a GF in the last 5 years they've probably shown more. But they really both did virtually nothing for 5 years and were under almost no pressure.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Out of touch with the rest of the nation (look at the recent referendum). Not really. Canberra was the 4th highest electorate on %. The 3 higher were I think were Melbourne, Sydney and Grayndler. The divide if you look at the numbers was really between inner city, higher level of education electorates, and the remainder of the country.
J Joseph
Roar Rookie
You are an utter champion JP. To coach year after year for forty years is amazing. You may have no trophies to show for it, but I’ll bet you have hundreds of grateful former Under 12s players, as well as their parents. That marks far greater success than any number of premierships.
Tony Dargon
Roar Guru
Cheers JJ. I think both clubs would benefit from a change but it seems that most of their fans are happy the way things are. Go figure?
J Joseph
Roar Rookie
What a fascinating analysis. Great writing. I think one thing Arthur and Stuart have in common is that they both care for their players and their families. Consequently, they haven’t “lost the dressing room”: Still, there must be a point when they realise that a different coach might be able to take the club further. One club has a stable management that supports the coach come “hell or high water”. Stuart is the beneficiary of their loyalty. He did win a premiership in his first year as head coach back at the roosters. The other has been through the lows of appalling in-fighting and woeful administration. In fact Arthur almost single-handedly held the club together during those horrendous years. Give them both another season, but with a performance clause built in perhaps.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
and field surprisingly few local juniors in first grade despite the humongous nursery
az
Geoff, ask Tony, apparently the Raiders and Eels has the same opportunity to sign Cronk as the Roosters, all they had to do was approach him. I’m pretty sure the convo would of been something like…. Raiders: Hey Cronk how about joining the Raiders Cronk: Is there a Fox gig for life after footy included in the $1 mil? Raiders: Yeah we can’t offer that because the the bloke who runs Fox sports is a Roosters tragic. Cronk: Well sorry fella’s I want media gig to look after me post footy so have to pass. Raiders: No worries Cronk, we have heard this story before.
Ed Flanders
Roar Rookie
Yeah, I've spent the best part of the past 20 years in Asia. Infinitely better than Canberra. Canberra's selling point of being a couple hours from the beach and ski fields is rendered fairly moot when you consider that nearly every city in Japan can make that claim, and significant chunks of the western united states too. I still rate Canberra for it's climate (it's not that cold. I've lived in Beijing and Seoul. That's cold) but it serves a very specific niche of being a happy public servant in a secure job and a nice house without the crippling mortgage. But if you aren't inclined to like that and you want more...then you've got to leave it. 8 years was enough for me. Great memories, but happy to be elsewhere.
Brett305
Roar Rookie
Personally, I think the raiders need a fresh set of eyes in terms of coaching..kudos to Ricky but the time has come to move on..
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Bleedin green Ed - and I suspect Ricky ain't going nowhere - maybe I could suspend myself in a cryogenic chamber and get rebooted when he is gone! Guess I'll just have to accept the Raiders being decent or somewhere thereabouts as you suggest. At least I turn up to games at home and have no idea what to expect. If they were terrible I would have given up before I arrived.
Ed Flanders
Roar Rookie
Maybe… If you switch coach, you might even get to celebrate a premiership in 4K. Or you can accept being merely decent.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Maybe the rest of Australia is out of touch with Canberra? Just kidding. Been here since 2000 and have lived in Adelaide, Darwin and Sydney for multiple years. The Winters are a killer but I know that I now have 7 nice months of weather ahead of me. Wish a I had your win/loss record at games. Lets face it 1991 to 1995 was prime time. Some of those losses at home this year were awful to watch - particularly the losses to the Warriors, Manly and Panthers. They were competitive in every other game.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
That really hurt Ed. Maybe I can get my videos recorded to DVD and get them re-mastered and sharpened up a bit.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Cronk was never going to go to the Raiders. Or the Eels for that matter. He wanted to be in Sydney to be with his missus. And Cronk identified the Roosters as a successful club and coach that he wanted to go to. So why even raise this as a possibility?
jammel
Roar Rookie
Agreed on the families point Geoff. F rom my peers there were 2 groups - those that stayed had many kids very early. Those that went overseas for worked travelled the world, and then got married/had kids in their mid-30s.....
jammel
Roar Rookie
I grew up in Canberra. First 23 years of my life. Great city for sunshine believe it or not, outdoor sports like cycling/running/golf/tennis/kayaking/skiing etc. Great standard of education/healthcare/roads. High average income. Don't rate it now though - I've lived in Melbourne/London/Osaka/Cayman Islands/Sydney since. And have travelled 130+ countries. It changes your perspective. Canberra is vastly too cold for my liking. Full of politicians + public servants. Out of touch with the rest of the nation (look at the recent referendum). So I'd never go back. Doesn't stop me loving my Raiders. I was a season ticket holder 1991-1995 (didn't go to every match - but remarkably NEVER saw my side lose!!)
jammel
Roar Rookie
I tell it like it is Ed, for sure. I'm not saying we would have won. I genuinely think we might have though - but we can never be sure.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Can’t argue with that.. I think Ricky and Arthur are poles apart in ability. Arthur has had a decade, has a giant club with incredible resources and welded on fans and yet there’s nothing to show. Ricky’s job is way harder
Ed Flanders
Roar Rookie
We were like 6-7 minutes away from potentially winning that GF! That's an interesting analysis. Not 6-7 minutes away from winning, but rather 6-7 minutes from potentially winning. Sums up Ricky Stuart, really