The team is hungry and have put dramas aside: Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart
It has been a difficult week for the Canberra Raiders.
The team is on a four game losing streak, with some big name players having been recently dropped or rested.
News filtered out on Tuesday night that Josh Hodgson had taken the decision to stand down as co-captain two weeks ago - reportedly after being told he would be dropped to the bench for the match against the Cowboys. Hodgson suffered a calf injury at training before the team list was announced. Since then, other clubs have expressed interest in Hodgson being given an early release by the Raiders.
It was also revealed on Tuesday that English half George Williams had informally approached the club about the possibility of an early release. He and his pregnant partner Charlotte, separated from family by international travel restrictions due to COVID, have been suffering homesickness. English clubs have said they are keen to talk to Williams about next season.
But coach Ricky Stuart is now just focussed on getting a win against the Newcastle Knights on Saturday.
The Knights, who have also fallen short of expectations this year, will be just as desperate as the Raiders to taste victory. Stuart says a lack of hunger amongst his own players is not the problem.
"Every game is a tough game and every team is desperate," Stuart said today.
"We haven't been far away over the last three or four weeks in winning games. A couple of poor choices, a couple of poor executions and we're leaking a try or two."
"It's not good enough. It's something we've spoken about and it's something we want to improve on."
"We're scoring enough points, we've just got to stop leaking a couple of softer tries. It's something we've worked on, spoken about and now we've just to execute it.
"It's not hunger. We've got really good players and defenders making some decisions in defence that are not at the NRL level. It's something we're working on and want improve on. Let's hope we get it tomorrow."
Stuart says that the team has dealt well with the dramas of the past week.
"The boys are great," he said.
"When you're going through a little bit of a tough period in regards to not winning football games, from my point of view the first thing I look at is how the player's energy is around the facility at training, when we're training, what the quality of the sessions are."
"The boys are upbeat, we're training well so that's a real positive sign."
"Hopefully a win's not far away and it fixes a lot of the uneasiness and the disgruntledness you get from losing."
"We all want to win and that creates a sour taste. But the boys are really good. I'm amazed at how they're handling this difficult situation. I'm looking forward to getting a good performance in, good enough to win."
Stuart was expressing confidence today about Hodgson and Williams staying with the club. He says the club will "get around George".
"People go through this type of situation," Stuart said.
"I've known about this for three weeks, so it's not new. We're getting around George and doing everything we can for him and Charlie."
"It's not uncommon for people to [suffer] homesickness. But it's not a disease, it goes away."
When asked about Hodgson's situation, Stuart said: "We knew about this two or three weeks ago. It hasn't surprised us. We've dealt with this. We've moved on."
Stuart said that he expects both George Williams (hamstring) and Sebastian Kris (ankle) will be fit for tomorrow.
"We've basically had George all week," Stuart said.
"It was a neural problem with his hamstring, came from his back last week. It was unfortunate timing of the injury happening in the warm up. But he's trained really well this week."
The Raiders mentor is also expecting a big performance from Josh Papalii after being "rested" last week. He's been named at starting prop for the clash with the Knights.
"Josh and I sat down and had a good chat about the week off last week on why we were doing it," Stuart said.
"He was the one ringing me over the weekend saying that he was hungry to play this week."
"It was important for the team to have one of our leaders of the pack wanting to play and be up front and starting. I'm hoping for and expecting a big performance from him.
Stuart praised the contribution that English forward Elliott Whitehead has made as stand-in captain in the past couple of weeks. The club formally announced on Wednesday that Whitehead would become co-captain, alongside Jarrod Croker.
"There's all different types of leadership and I like how the boys follow him," Stuart said.
"We have a couple of senior players there that have good, strong, influential actions and voice - and that's really important."
"Elliott's a very likable person and the boys follow his lead. He's been wonderful the last couple of weeks."
The Raiders announced on Friday afternoon that Ryan James and Dunamis Lui have been omitted from their squad to face the Knights, with Sam Williams and Matt Timoko still on the reserves list.
The Raiders and Knights will operate on level three game day COVID protocols because of cases this week in Sydney - meaning contact between players and fans will be restricted.
A report for The Greenhouse
VIDEO: Ricky Stuart speaks about the clash with the Knights:
https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/05 ... hts-clash/
GALLERY: Captain's Run: Raiders v Knights:
https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/05 ... v-knights/
Stuart certain English duo will stay despite dramas:
https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/05/07/stu ... me-dramas/
Canberra Raiders put drama behind them:
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239
Raiders can prove doubters wrong by sticking boot into Knights:
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239