AMONG the small lives, another man’s failure is often claimed as victory.
Ricky Stuart is such a winner they cheer his failures. He helps them by bleeding openly, a small sideshow on the sideline where every loss leaves him haemorrhaging.
Stuart stood on the sideline Saturday and, for the second time in as many games, banged his chest with his hand.
The Raiders were behind but they were coming. For the first time in a long time they looked like a football side.
Stuart’s chest thump caught the eye of Iosia Soliola out on the field who banged his chest in reply.
Soliola is the pulse in the team. He is the kind of player you put in a boxing ring and there will never be enough rounds to beat him. Beau Scott is another and every team needs one.
Soliola played tough and the Raiders, who in other years would have tried to manufacture the miracle victory with Harlem Globetrotter football, instead played tough and direct and won the game.
Such wins create something at the good clubs. Something there for the next time.
Stuart is building himself a team, which must come at some personal pain to his haters.
The majority of those people always point to his performance with Cronulla in 2009-10 (15th and 14th) and Parramatta in 2013 when the Eels finished last as evidence he cannot coach.
They forget he took the Sharks to equal first on the ladder in 2008 with Manly and Melbourne, with a roster that did not even barely resemble the eventual premiers Manly or the soon-to-be-discovered salary cap cheating Melbourne, who eliminated them in the grand final qualifier.
They forget over the summer the Sharks lost Greg Bird, Brett Kimmorley, Lance Thompson and Isaac De Gois from the roster. That, through injury, Paul Gallen played just 16 games in 2009, Trent Barrett played just 14 and Ben Ross just one.
When he got the Eels job they forget he took over a team already last the season before and a point off being last the season before that. A club mired in failure.
Stuart took the job with dysfunction at board level and a roster made up of men who basically ran around the field and bumped into each other.
He figured he could get rid of six each year for the next three years, which would only just get the Eels to the point of being competitive, or he could offload most of them immediately and create space on the salary cap and give themselves a chance the following season.
That led to the famous projector meeting, when he called the squad in and lit up a projector and there on the wall were the names of a dozen players who needed to find new clubs. Oh, that gave them their ammunition.
It could have been handled better but Stuart knew given the large number of players getting tapped that if he went one by one then by the time the fourth or fifth player was called in the fire would light up the NRL rumour mill. He figured it was best done all at once, which in hindsight was still probably a mistake.
Anyway, after that Parra finished last so Stuart could not coach. Who was he to tell all those players they had no job when he couldn’t do the job himself, the small lives cheered.
It’s worth looking back now to see where those players are.
After Stuart put his name on the projector Reni Matua found a start with Canterbury the following season and played 13 games before the Dogs let him go. He has since popped up at Featherstone, Salford and now plays for Leigh in English First Division, unable to interest another NRL club.
Matt Keating was also unable to interest another NRL club and played the following season at Burleigh on the NSW north coast.
Willie Tonga could not find another NRL club either and moved to Catalan for a season but now currently plays for Leigh.
Nathan Smith could not find another club.
Ben Roberts played 18 games next season for Melbourne, replacing the departed Gareth Widdop, and was gone the season after and now plays at Castleford in Super League.
Daniel Harrison moved to Manly, played one game and now plays for London Broncos.
Cheyse Blair went to Manly for two seasons, played 18 games and now plays for Easts Tigers in the Queensland Cup.
Pat O’Hanlon moved to the Bulldogs and played 12 games in 2014 but has since been unable to get out of NSW Cup.
Unable to interest another NRL club Matt Ryan moved to Wakefield but now plays First Division in England for Bradford.
Ben Smith played 10 games the following season and retired.
Only Luke Kelly is still at the Eels, playing six games (2014), 12 games (2015) and one so far this season.
None have gone on to embarrass Stuart’s decision.
Now in Canberra, there is still much work ahead for the Raiders. Two wins to start the season are not nearly enough.
Beyond the score, though, there is evidence of something building at Canberra.
