After pulling off one of the early upsets of the year, Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart caused a stir with his comments after the game directed at the referees and bunker officials.
Stuart extended his history of famous press conferences after he called out the decision to give backrower Hudson Young ten minutes in the sin bin for a high shot on Kalyn Ponga.
The legendary coach’s comments left many confused as it seemed he had skipped over the fact that the Raiders’ stellar showing got them the win in a game where they were given little chance of an upset.
Hudson Young goes to the sin bin for this hit on Kalyn Ponga.
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) March 7, 2024
📺 Watch #NRLKnightsRaiders on ch.502 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/B1ijnGXtqA
✍️ BLOG https://t.co/Duocg75mUr
🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/0scxvgB7yw pic.twitter.com/jcQNiDZQ8J
Although sending Young to the sin bin has divided NRL fans, the contact with Ponga’s head, whilst he didn’t have the ball is undebatable.
Stuart called out the inconsistency of the referees and their use of discretion on the decision, leaving SENQ’s Corey Parker puzzled.
“I raised my eyebrows when I saw (Ricky’s comments),” Parker told SENQ Breakfast.
“It’s game one of the season, Ricky’s got a big cash chest of fines that he can pay throughout the season.
“(It) probably didn’t need to be spoken about honestly, because it was late, it was high and it didn’t need to be done, quite simple.
“It’ll be interesting to see what comes of.”
Stuart has a well-documented history of being fined for his comments in post-game press conferences and currently has paid over $160,000 to the NRL across his 19-plus years as a coach.
“Ricky does like to get in the corner with his team and make them feel like he’s right beside them,” Parker added.
“Maybe that’s the angle he was going for.”
Stuart is yet to face any sanctions for his comments and is unlikely to be fined prior to the Raiders' next match with the Wests Tigers next Saturday afternoon.