NRL 2020: Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart faces huge sanctions over outburst
In an explosive aftermath to the NRL’s refereeing weekend from hell, Ricky Stuart had to smoothe over a potentially difficult situation with NRL head of football Graham Annesley on Monday morning.
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Ricky Stuart has broken an 11-month silence with NRL head of football Graham Annesley, with the passionate Canberra coach declaring: “I didn’t think we had a problem”.
But that didn’t stop the two holding peace talks on Monday as the NRL investigated whether Stuart should be sanctioned for his explosive post match comments on Sunday, during which Stuart claimed he and Annesley’s thinking of football was “planets apart”.
Stuart and Annesley had not spoken since Canberra’s controversial loss in last year’s grand final.
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While the NRL was on Monday night still determining whether Stuart’s comments — and throwing a water bottle out of his coach’s box — warranted a fine, Stuart claimed his views were never intended to question anyone’s integrity.
Stuart also denied he had a personal issue with Annesley.
“I haven’t had any reason not to be talking with him,” Stuart said in relation to the fact they hadn’t spoken since last October.
“What we spoke about was private.
“But I assured Graham the friendship we have forged over the last 30 years is more important to me than a game of football.
“I have known Graham for a long time and I didn’t think we had a problem.
“But my CEO Donny (Furner) told me (on Monday morning) that ‘you have to ring Graham because he thought it was more of a personal thing’.
“So I assured Graham that it wasn’t.
“I actually said, ‘this is the first time I have been attacked for calling someone ‘a nice bloke’.”
But Stuart couldn’t contain his frustrations on Sunday after some questionable decisions that included a 7-1 first half penalty count and the controversial sinbinning of Jack Wighton.
The sinbinning led to Stuart throwing his water bottle.
In respect to the comment their thinking was “planets apart”, Stuart explained: “That’s from a football point of view. We discussed that.”
Annesley said he would have no issues working with Stuart going forward.
“Ricky and I have had a chat,” Annesley said.
“I won’t go into the detail but it was all very amicable and we are sweet going forward.
“I don’t think there is any ongoing issues.”
It comes after another weekend of intense criticism across the game relating to the standard of refereeing and the bunker.
While many might agree with Stuart’s comments relating to a lack of consistency, the problem for Stuart is that it was only a month ago the NRL came down hard on Ivan Cleary for suggesting the referee had “managed” Canberra back into a game against Penrith.
Cleary was whacked with a $20,000 breach notice while ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys labelled Cleary’s comment “deplorable”.
In comparison, one particular comment Stuart made — where he claimed “if I say anything you just get payback” — was open to a suggestion of a perceived unfairness.
Stuart was resolute that was not his intention.
“I wasn’t attacking anyone’s integrity,” he said.
Stuart has previously cough up a record $125,000 in fines.
It is up to NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and the integrity unit to decide if Stuart should be sanctioned.
Annesley also backed his under fire match officials and the intense criticism of the bunker.
“They (the bunker) had 66 decisions to make over the weekend and yet we are focussing on one or two incidents, and ignore the vast majority of decisions that may have otherwise been wrong that were that were correct because of the involvement of the bunker,” Annesley said.
“Overwhelming the decisions the bunker makes are right.
“It is a bit like the decisions made by the referees. We see thousands of decisions made across the course of the weekend and we focus in on a very small number of them.
“They can always be better. We are doing things to try and make them better.
“But just as when a coach puts his team out on the field he loses control of what happens, the same thing happens once we start putting officials on the field or in the bunker.”
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Annesley also backed his under fire match officials and the intense criticism of the bunker.
“They had 66 decisions to make over the weekend and yet we are focusing on one or two incidents, and ignore the vast majority of decisions that may have otherwise been wrong that were that were correct because of the involvement of the bunker,” Annesley said.
“Overwhelming the decisions the bunker makes are right.
“It is a bit like the decisions made by the referees. We see thousands of decisions made across the course of the weekend and we focus in on a very small number of them.
“They can always be better. We are doing things to try and make them better.
“But just as when a coach puts his team out on the field he loses control of what happens, the same thing happens once we start putting officials on the field or in the bunker.”
V’landys said previously about Cleary’s comments: “He is an elite coach and accordingly a role model to everybody.
“Does he consider that the referee is a human being like the rest of us, and the hurt he would cause by questioning his integrity?”
Originally published as NRL 2020: Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart faces huge sanctions over outburst