NRL 2022: Ricky Stuart’s finals record puts best NRL coaches to shame

It’s been a decade since Ricky Stuart punt then caretaker Brad Arthur from Parramatta. The gulf in their finals records should ring alarm bells for the current Eels coach.

It’s almost 10 years to the day since Ricky Stuart punted then caretaker Brad Arthur from Parramatta’s coaching staff when he took over the struggling Eels.

All these years on from Stuart’s tumultuous one-year reign, the now Canberra coach will take on the bloke he once brushed in Friday night’s NRL elimination final, also marking the first ever playoff between the two clubs.

The Eels faithful will forever remember Stuart walking out on them with two years left on his contract after claiming the wooden spoon in 2013.

For that, Stuart can always expect a hostile reception every time he returns to Parramatta.

The abuse he’s copped over the years has at times been relentless, yet you never hear him complain, although sometimes he’s been known to give back as good as he gets.

It promises to be no different at CommBank Stadium this week.

There's plenty of history between (L-R) Ricky Stuart and Brad Arthur.

It remains to be seen whether Stuart will take his familiar seat on the sideline and run the gauntlet for what’s sure to be a fiery greeting or watch the game from the safety of the coaching box.

But to mark the occasion, here’s a look back at Stuart’s strife-torn time at the Eels.

From that infamous whiteboard player culling session, to an ugly post season blow up at the presentation night, and how the Raiders got under the Eels’ guard to sign Stuart, but kept it secret until after the season.

That ultimately ended in a sliding doors moment for Arthur to come back and forge his own head coaching career.

For the Stuart haters, we’ve also uncovered a stunning statistic that will shock many in the countdown to this sudden death shootout, showing Stuart’s strike rate in finals matches is even better than the likes of Craig Bellamy, Trent Robinson, Ivan Cleary and Wayne Bennett.

Ricky Stuart’s finals record makes for solid reading. Art: Boo Bailey

THE DAY STUART SENT ARTHUR PACKING

Despite having one year left on his contract after taking over as caretaker following Stephen Kearney’s sacking near the end of 2012, Arthur said at the time: “I have spoken to Ricky and he has indicated that I won’t be part of his NRL coaching staff.

“I won’t be an assistant coach and I want to be involved in the NRL, so I guess I’ve got to see what’s out there.”

In the end Arthur took a job at Manly under Geoff Toovey, while Stuart brought in Dean Pay and Matt Parish as his assistants.

The Eels ended up finishing last after also claiming the wooden spoon the previous year.

Stuart’s stint was unfortunately best remembered for that infamous ‘whiteboard’ incident that marked the Eels’ biggest player clean-out in history.

All up, 12 players were told their futures were uncertain including the likes of Reni Maitua, Ben Smith, Matt Keating and Willie Tonga.

Ricky Stuart heads into the 2013 Parramatta Eels presentation night after resigning from the club. Picture: Bradley Hunter

At the time it was portrayed as a heartless way to cull unwanted players when the squad was called to a meeting only to find certain names written on the board who would not be required the following season, while others were also put on notice.

From Stuart’s perspective, he had been sent in to overhaul a roster that was horribly underperforming.

He also thought he had the full backing of the club’s hierarchy to make the tough calls necessary.

It was only after he started hearing stories of how he was being knifed in the back that Stuart could see the writing on the wall for himself.

Fortunately for him, that’s when the Raiders came knocking.

HOW RAIDERS GOT UNDER THE EELS’ GUARD

That season Canberra was going through a turbulent period of their own.

Chief executive Don Furner had been forced to sack his brother and club legend Dave as head coach with only three rounds to play following a player mutiny.

Stuart was the only coach the Raiders approached to take over.

But given Furner was also Stuart’s best mate from their school days, he left himself out of the discussion until it was sorted.

Ultimately it was left to director Terry Weber to get the deal done.

Stuart ultimately copped a lot of criticism for not being up front to the Eels players and fans until after the season.

But it was clear to all that he just wasn’t the right fit at the club, and he desperately wanted to return to Canberra for family reasons as well as to coach the club he loved as a player.

If Stuart had stayed at Parramatta chances are his coaching career would have ended long before now, because that type of environment was just not conducive to his emotional personality.

But with support and trust at the Raiders, Stuart has gone on to become Canberra’s longest serving coach after recently passing the great Tim Sheens, while raising millions for the Ricky Stuart Foundation set up in honour of his daughter Emma to help with autism respite care.

He has also proven to be not just a coach at the Raiders, but a club saviour in many ways by putting Canberra back on the rugby league map, after many at head office thought they no longer held any relevance.

RICKY’S FINALS RECORD BEST OF THE MODERN ERA

Fox Sports Stats show that during the State of Origin era which kicked off in 1980, Stuart’s finals strike is the best of any coach (with at least five appearances), at 68.2 per cent with 15 wins from 22 matches.

To put that in perspective Bellamy is next with 64 per cent (30 from 47), Robinson 59.1 per cent (13 from 22), Cleary 55 per cent (11 from 20), Des Hasler 53.3 per cent (16 from 30), while Bennett is 51.4 per cent (38 from 74).

Arthur’s finals record stands at 22.2 per cent with two wins from nine appearances.

And while Arthur is yet to make it past week two of the finals, Stuart has made it at least until the third week preliminary final on every occasion he’s entered the play-offs.

Ricky Stuart’s sole grand final victory as a coach came with the Roosters in 2002.

THE PRESENTATION BLOW UP

Stuart’s stormy Parramatta stint all came to a fiery end at the presentation night.

Following his decision to quit, Stuart was warned not to attend through fear it could blow up, but he wanted to make one final appearance.

He copped some nasty looks on the way in, but all seemed to be going okay until he was approached by an official who Stuart believed had been badmouthing him behind his back.

So when approached with what Stuart took as a false show of goodwill, he gave it to the official straight to his face.

“Get f***ed you c***” was the conversation in a nutshell.

With that he stayed just long enough to deliver his speech before heading out the door and back home to Canberra, where he never plans to leave.

Stuart is often criticised for his emotional and at times over the top reactions.

But the one thing you always know is where you stand with him because if he doesn’t like you, you will be the first to know.

For better or worse, that’s who he is, and he makes no apologies for it.

It’s just a shame Eels fans never really got to know the bloke the Raiders absolutely adore.

Originally published as NRL 2022: Ricky Stuart’s finals record puts best NRL coaches to shame