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Coach Ricky Stuart's son Jed to make first-grade debut with Canberra Raiders

Coach Ricky Stuart's son Jed to make first-grade debut with Canberra Raiders

Australia Broadcast Center 2 days ago

First it was Martin and John Lang in the early 2000s.
Then Jake and Brad Arthur. Billy and Kevin Walters in Brisbane.
Maybe most famously, Nathan and Ivan Cleary.
Now, it's Jed and Ricky Stuart.
The NRL's most demonstratively passionate and self-proclaimed "emotional" coach, Ricky Stuart, will have an extra reason to reach for the tissues this week, as he watches his son make his first-grade debut.
Jed Stuart will become Raider #404 on Friday night, after being given his NRL call-up for the Round 16 match against the Wests Tigers.
It will mark the first time a Raiders NRL coach has coached his own son in a first-grade capacity, and is only the fourth father-son player legacy for the club.
"I often say, I hate having to deliver bad news to players because I know how hard they work to get into such an elite position.
"I'm no different this week, as a father."
The call-up comes after talented rookie Savelio Tamale sustained a knee injury and is expected to miss an extended period.
It also comes after a lot of hard work and dedication. Stuart, who will celebrate his 24th birthday on Sunday, has played 57 NSW Cup games for the Raiders, after previously being involved in the Australian rugby sevens.
The younger Stuart has been named at 18th man four times this season, before finally getting the chance to take the field this week.
Working as an apprentice while chasing his dream of being an NRL player "hasn't always been easy for Jed", Canberra Raiders Wellbeing Manager Andrew Bishop said.
Named on the wing, where he has played most of his games in NSW Cup, he'll team up with Sebastian Kris, who is marking a milestone of his own this week, notching up 100 NRL games.
Ricky played 203 NRL games between 1988 and 2000, and won three premierships for the Raiders, and joined the Canberra side as coach in 2014.
Shutting down any whispers of nepotism before they could begin, Ricky said it was hard to select his own flesh and blood, and he looked to senior members of the playing group for their input on the situation.
It wasn't a surprise for Ricky when the team backed his son to debut, as the Raiders NRL squad has been behind Jed for a while.
The team was so passionate about Jed's ability, they even twisted their coaches' arm to bring the youngster along to the Raiders match in Las Vegas in Round 1.
"He's worked really hard to get there, he's actually had to work doubly hard — I've made it very hard on him.
"He's earned his spot, let's put it that way."
The Raiders are currently placed 2nd in the NRL, trailing only two points behind the ladder-leading Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Named on the wing, where he's played most of his games in NSW Cup, he'll team up with Sebastian Kris, who is marking a milestone of his own this week, notching up 100 NRL games.
Despite the senior Stuart's light-hearted claim that his son is only marginally taller than him, the winger's imposing height will be a useful addition for the Green Machine at both ends of the field.
Standing at an imposing 193cm (six feet four inches), Stuart adds an exciting element to the side, able to be targeted with lofting kicks on the wing in attack and diffusing the oppositions bombs in defence.
The Raiders will take on the 13th placed Wests Tigers in Campbelltown on Friday night.

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Jed Stuart ends dad's sleepless nights with debut win
Jed Stuart ends dad's sleepless nights with debut win

The Advertiser

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Jed Stuart ends dad's sleepless nights with debut win

Ricky Stuart's weeks of sleepless nights are over after his son Jed scored on debut and Canberra held on to beat the Raiders 16-12 at Campbelltown. Following a fortnight of build up to one of the Raiders' most famous debuts in years, Stuart played a key role in Canberra's ninth win in 10 matches on Friday night. His try came as Canberra led 16-0 at halftime, before being forced to defend through a nervy final 25 minutes with the margin just four. The win ensures Canberra will finish the round in second spot, with five straight victories and nine from their past 10 games. Stuart was the story of the night with a try on debut, the four-pointer coming as his proud father Ricky stood on the sideline. The Raiders coach had long known of the 23-year-old's ability, but was hesitant to plug him into Canberra's backline before Savelio Tamale's injury. Stuart Jnr. responded by taking a bomb on attack with his first play, saving a 40-20 with a bat back and then scoring when Seb Kris sent him over in the corner. "This week has been the hardest moment I've had as a coach," Ricky Stuart said. "Because from a father's point of view, I don't want him to come out and be man of the match, I just want him to hold his own. And he did that. "The amount of times I've been waking up at 3am with real bad thoughts ... He didn't have any of those tonight, which was good." While Jed Stuart provided the headline moment, it was Joe Tapine and Canberra's goal-line defenders who proved the heroes. The Tigers spent large parts of the match camped on the Raiders' line, but were only able to break through twice in a five-minute period in the second half. Tapine was crucial. He somehow held up Jarome Luai as the Tigers five-eighth looked certain to get the ball down in the first half, pulling the No.6's arm back up as it went towards the turf. Then moments later it was Tapine who gave the Raiders their first try, running on to a Josh Papalii try and through a gaping hole to score. The Raiders prop had another crucial moment in the second half, pulling off a one-on-one strip to end another Tigers attacking raid in the final 10 minutes. "That's why I've been saying for the past two years I think he is the best front-rower in the game," Stuart said. "There is a lot of athleticism in those efforts." As resolute as the Raiders were, the Tigers were at times their own worst enemies. A Tom Starling try came after Kris brushed through a poor Heath Mason miss, before Jeral Skelton and Jahreem Bula fumbled a grubber and Starling dived on the ball. The Tigers were better in the second half, with Luai coming to life after being well contained before the break. Backing up just two days after Origin II and following cross-country travel, he sparked the Tigers to life when he grubbered for a chasing Alex Seyfarth to score. Luai had it at 16-12 moments later when he first put Adam Doueihi into space, before backing up on the next play and combining with Latu Fainu to send Starford To'a. But a denied try from a forward pass, Tapine's strip and another overturned late penalty for a Skelton hair-pull meant the Tigers were consigned to a fifth straight loss. "Looking at our last two games, the four-time premiers (Penrith), taking them to the wire and almost winning. And the team that is second on the table, giving ourselves a shot today," Tigers coach Benji Marshall said. "I know the results have gone the other way, but it's not proud off where we've got to be." Ricky Stuart's weeks of sleepless nights are over after his son Jed scored on debut and Canberra held on to beat the Raiders 16-12 at Campbelltown. Following a fortnight of build up to one of the Raiders' most famous debuts in years, Stuart played a key role in Canberra's ninth win in 10 matches on Friday night. His try came as Canberra led 16-0 at halftime, before being forced to defend through a nervy final 25 minutes with the margin just four. The win ensures Canberra will finish the round in second spot, with five straight victories and nine from their past 10 games. Stuart was the story of the night with a try on debut, the four-pointer coming as his proud father Ricky stood on the sideline. The Raiders coach had long known of the 23-year-old's ability, but was hesitant to plug him into Canberra's backline before Savelio Tamale's injury. Stuart Jnr. responded by taking a bomb on attack with his first play, saving a 40-20 with a bat back and then scoring when Seb Kris sent him over in the corner. "This week has been the hardest moment I've had as a coach," Ricky Stuart said. "Because from a father's point of view, I don't want him to come out and be man of the match, I just want him to hold his own. And he did that. "The amount of times I've been waking up at 3am with real bad thoughts ... He didn't have any of those tonight, which was good." While Jed Stuart provided the headline moment, it was Joe Tapine and Canberra's goal-line defenders who proved the heroes. The Tigers spent large parts of the match camped on the Raiders' line, but were only able to break through twice in a five-minute period in the second half. Tapine was crucial. He somehow held up Jarome Luai as the Tigers five-eighth looked certain to get the ball down in the first half, pulling the No.6's arm back up as it went towards the turf. Then moments later it was Tapine who gave the Raiders their first try, running on to a Josh Papalii try and through a gaping hole to score. The Raiders prop had another crucial moment in the second half, pulling off a one-on-one strip to end another Tigers attacking raid in the final 10 minutes. "That's why I've been saying for the past two years I think he is the best front-rower in the game," Stuart said. "There is a lot of athleticism in those efforts." As resolute as the Raiders were, the Tigers were at times their own worst enemies. A Tom Starling try came after Kris brushed through a poor Heath Mason miss, before Jeral Skelton and Jahreem Bula fumbled a grubber and Starling dived on the ball. The Tigers were better in the second half, with Luai coming to life after being well contained before the break. Backing up just two days after Origin II and following cross-country travel, he sparked the Tigers to life when he grubbered for a chasing Alex Seyfarth to score. Luai had it at 16-12 moments later when he first put Adam Doueihi into space, before backing up on the next play and combining with Latu Fainu to send Starford To'a. But a denied try from a forward pass, Tapine's strip and another overturned late penalty for a Skelton hair-pull meant the Tigers were consigned to a fifth straight loss. "Looking at our last two games, the four-time premiers (Penrith), taking them to the wire and almost winning. And the team that is second on the table, giving ourselves a shot today," Tigers coach Benji Marshall said. "I know the results have gone the other way, but it's not proud off where we've got to be." Ricky Stuart's weeks of sleepless nights are over after his son Jed scored on debut and Canberra held on to beat the Raiders 16-12 at Campbelltown. Following a fortnight of build up to one of the Raiders' most famous debuts in years, Stuart played a key role in Canberra's ninth win in 10 matches on Friday night. His try came as Canberra led 16-0 at halftime, before being forced to defend through a nervy final 25 minutes with the margin just four. The win ensures Canberra will finish the round in second spot, with five straight victories and nine from their past 10 games. Stuart was the story of the night with a try on debut, the four-pointer coming as his proud father Ricky stood on the sideline. The Raiders coach had long known of the 23-year-old's ability, but was hesitant to plug him into Canberra's backline before Savelio Tamale's injury. Stuart Jnr. responded by taking a bomb on attack with his first play, saving a 40-20 with a bat back and then scoring when Seb Kris sent him over in the corner. "This week has been the hardest moment I've had as a coach," Ricky Stuart said. "Because from a father's point of view, I don't want him to come out and be man of the match, I just want him to hold his own. And he did that. "The amount of times I've been waking up at 3am with real bad thoughts ... He didn't have any of those tonight, which was good." While Jed Stuart provided the headline moment, it was Joe Tapine and Canberra's goal-line defenders who proved the heroes. The Tigers spent large parts of the match camped on the Raiders' line, but were only able to break through twice in a five-minute period in the second half. Tapine was crucial. He somehow held up Jarome Luai as the Tigers five-eighth looked certain to get the ball down in the first half, pulling the No.6's arm back up as it went towards the turf. Then moments later it was Tapine who gave the Raiders their first try, running on to a Josh Papalii try and through a gaping hole to score. The Raiders prop had another crucial moment in the second half, pulling off a one-on-one strip to end another Tigers attacking raid in the final 10 minutes. "That's why I've been saying for the past two years I think he is the best front-rower in the game," Stuart said. "There is a lot of athleticism in those efforts." As resolute as the Raiders were, the Tigers were at times their own worst enemies. A Tom Starling try came after Kris brushed through a poor Heath Mason miss, before Jeral Skelton and Jahreem Bula fumbled a grubber and Starling dived on the ball. The Tigers were better in the second half, with Luai coming to life after being well contained before the break. Backing up just two days after Origin II and following cross-country travel, he sparked the Tigers to life when he grubbered for a chasing Alex Seyfarth to score. Luai had it at 16-12 moments later when he first put Adam Doueihi into space, before backing up on the next play and combining with Latu Fainu to send Starford To'a. But a denied try from a forward pass, Tapine's strip and another overturned late penalty for a Skelton hair-pull meant the Tigers were consigned to a fifth straight loss. "Looking at our last two games, the four-time premiers (Penrith), taking them to the wire and almost winning. And the team that is second on the table, giving ourselves a shot today," Tigers coach Benji Marshall said. "I know the results have gone the other way, but it's not proud off where we've got to be."

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