With the Raiders third on the ladder Ricky Stuart has finally silenced his critics, writes Paul Kent

NO coach ever had their failures more celebrated by opposition fans than Ricky Stuart. But now the Raiders are flying, Stuart has finally silenced his critics. Live blog with Paul Kent.

THE Origin debate died down over the weekend.

What gained life was the coaching credential of Ricky Stuart. This will break the hearts of the Parramatta fans who enjoyed his struggle and the Canterbury mob whose grudge goes all the way back to his Roosters days.

Stuart, a good winner, was their special target. It almost became a game.

They celebrated his struggle almost as much as they celebrated their own teams’ successes.

But the Raiders are now third on the ladder with 35 competition points that nobody saw coming.

Ricky Stuart talks to his side after the Raiders beat the Sharks.

LIVE BLOG WITH NRL360 HOST PAUL KENT FROM 1PM BELOW.

More, Stuart has done it with just one Origin player on his roster, leaving the Raiders in unfamiliar territory.

Some have somehow interpreted that as an advantage for the Raiders.

A week ago the NRL narrative was about the Origin toll and the inherent unfairness of all those teams laden with Origin stars down on form because the big boys were struggling.

Others, it went, like the Raiders, were going so well because they had no Origin heaviness.

Jarryd Hayne suggested it might be time for the NRL to suspend the home and away competition during Origin, like they do in rugby union when the touring sides arrive.

Be careful, if we give too much airtime to such conversations people might begin taking them seriously.

There is no doubt Origin takes a toll on players and clubs but there is a flip side to the argument and some of us are old enough to remember it. Nobody liked it when the competition was suspended in 2000, for instance, when Origin was played Sunday nights and was the only game all weekend.

WHO SHOULD BE COACH NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR? HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE 2016 NRL FANS SURVEY:

NSW version

CLICK HERE

We missed our footy.

So part of the reason player payments were upped significantly to $30,000 a game for every player was to acknowledge that toll when the game gets played midweek.

And still, when some clubs had a chance to rest their Origin players, they chose to play them anyway.

You can’t have it both ways.

A mid-season rest sounds solid in theory but it would end in tears. The first decision the AFL would make would be to put a Sydney-Hawthorn blockbuster on that very weekend, which would dovetail nicely into our collective whinge about their being no other NRL to watch that weekend, and suddenly we would feel gazumped again.

So let’s not play down the Raiders’ success with the casual throw-off that they have no Origin hangover.

And let’s acknowledge Stuart’s redemption.

No coach ever had their failures more celebrated by opposition fans than Stuart. None had their success more scrutinised.

Ricky Stuart resigned as Eels coach to head to the Canberra Raiders. Picture: Bradley Hunter

He hasn’t always had the answers but he has always been able to coach, yet overlooked in almost every conversation about his supposed lack of coaching ability was the quality of his roster.

Retention and recruitment are perhaps the best two skills a coach needs to possess.

Yes strangely, the only time the quality of Stuart’s roster ever got acknowledged was when the critics tried to downplay his success at the Roosters.

When he moved on to Cronulla he was promised many things and turned up ready for work, only to open the cupboard and find it bare.

The Sharks had no money and a board forever tripping over its shoelaces.

Yet in 2008 he still took the Sharks to equal first on the ladder on 38 points with Melbourne and Manly. Melbourne, later busted cheating the salary cap, eliminated Cronulla in the grand final qualifier.

It was some effort and he was unlucky not to win Dally M Coach of the Year.

Ricky Stuart talks with Paul Gallen during a Sharks training session.

Cronulla let more good players go than they recruited and the club soon found out how difficult it was to win under those circumstances.

When the players left after that, so did success and eventually so did Stuart.

He has never said much about Parramatta.

When he sacked a dozen players in an afternoon they came after him like Sitting Bull went for Custer.

Few acknowledge the favour he did Brad Arthur — not one of those players has gone on to be a success anywhere else, saving Arthur three years to do the job himself — or acknowledge his wisdom for recognising all was not right at the Eels and getting out before the board’s failings tore the club down.

He shifted on, returning to where he played, and has the Raiders poised for success.

For once, the critics remain silent.

Originally published as With the Raiders third on the ladder Ricky Stuart has finally silenced his critics, writes Paul Kent