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http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,15022614-23214,00.html
Is Stuart an asset or liability?
By Mike Gibson
April 20, 2005
THERE are two schools of thought on Ricky Stuart.
Firstly, there are those who claim he is a protected species.
Hey, where does an NRL coach get off, going on national television and describing a referee's decision as "disgraceful"?
What sort of example was that?
What sort of precedent was established when the NRL failed to fine him the prescribed $10,000?
Has the NRL given up on Stuart and the Roosters club?
Does it figure that $10,000 is such a chicken feed amount to the heavy hitters behind the scenes at Bondi Junction that it's a waste of time issuing the standard penalty?
These are the questions that supporters of other clubs are asking after last Friday night's ripsnorter at Telstra Stadium.
Sure, Adrian Morley should never have been sent off.
But had any other coach publicly savaged the referee the way Stuart did would the NRL have let him off with a reprimand?
What will the NRL do next time a coach disagrees with a referee's decision, gets on national television and brands it "disgraceful"?
The problem with Ricky Stuart is Ricky Stuart.
Few people wear their hearts on their sleeves like the man they call Sticky.
As a player, he revolutionised rugby league with his kicking game and wonderful cut-out pass.
As a coach, he revolutionised the game with the Roosters' crushing defence.
In a game where you're supposed to sanitise your sentiments, and go home and drop-kick the moggy when you get angry, with Ricky what you see is what you hear.
Is it in the best interests of the game to curb his criticism, to give him a verbal vasectomy, to muffle him to the stage that he no longer bothers to publicly discuss the game at all?
I just happen to be one of those people who think that Stuart is one of the best things rugby league has going for it.
Ricky and I have had our differences.
No doubt about it, Ricky hasn't held back when I've written something to which he has taken exception.
But I'd expect nothing less.
That's what I like about Stuart.
Rather than brood on something, instead of scowling at you next time he sees you and muttering a few words under his breath, Ricky tells you what he's thinking.
He's the same in public.
That's why sports writers -- and television directors - love him.
Ask Ricky for a quote before the big game.
Tight shot on Ricky when the Roosters have just blown the try that would have wrapped it all up.
The old Wide World Of Sports said it best.
The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. Put a rugby league face to it, and it's the face of the coach of the Roosters.
In a game where too many people are either discouraged from saying what they think, or in some cases sadly incapable of expressing themselves in anything but cliches, Stuart stands out as a spokesman of passion and conviction.
The bottom line with Ricky is if you want to listen to him, he's not your man to toe the party line.
He'll tell you how he feels. He'll tell you the way it is, according to Ricky.
Take that away, and you'll shut him up.
And in a game short on guys who shoot from the lip, rugby league will have lost the liveliest voice of them all.
Is Stuart an asset or liability?
By Mike Gibson
April 20, 2005
THERE are two schools of thought on Ricky Stuart.
Firstly, there are those who claim he is a protected species.
Hey, where does an NRL coach get off, going on national television and describing a referee's decision as "disgraceful"?
What sort of example was that?
What sort of precedent was established when the NRL failed to fine him the prescribed $10,000?
Has the NRL given up on Stuart and the Roosters club?
Does it figure that $10,000 is such a chicken feed amount to the heavy hitters behind the scenes at Bondi Junction that it's a waste of time issuing the standard penalty?
These are the questions that supporters of other clubs are asking after last Friday night's ripsnorter at Telstra Stadium.
Sure, Adrian Morley should never have been sent off.
But had any other coach publicly savaged the referee the way Stuart did would the NRL have let him off with a reprimand?
What will the NRL do next time a coach disagrees with a referee's decision, gets on national television and brands it "disgraceful"?
The problem with Ricky Stuart is Ricky Stuart.
Few people wear their hearts on their sleeves like the man they call Sticky.
As a player, he revolutionised rugby league with his kicking game and wonderful cut-out pass.
As a coach, he revolutionised the game with the Roosters' crushing defence.
In a game where you're supposed to sanitise your sentiments, and go home and drop-kick the moggy when you get angry, with Ricky what you see is what you hear.
Is it in the best interests of the game to curb his criticism, to give him a verbal vasectomy, to muffle him to the stage that he no longer bothers to publicly discuss the game at all?
I just happen to be one of those people who think that Stuart is one of the best things rugby league has going for it.
Ricky and I have had our differences.
No doubt about it, Ricky hasn't held back when I've written something to which he has taken exception.
But I'd expect nothing less.
That's what I like about Stuart.
Rather than brood on something, instead of scowling at you next time he sees you and muttering a few words under his breath, Ricky tells you what he's thinking.
He's the same in public.
That's why sports writers -- and television directors - love him.
Ask Ricky for a quote before the big game.
Tight shot on Ricky when the Roosters have just blown the try that would have wrapped it all up.
The old Wide World Of Sports said it best.
The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. Put a rugby league face to it, and it's the face of the coach of the Roosters.
In a game where too many people are either discouraged from saying what they think, or in some cases sadly incapable of expressing themselves in anything but cliches, Stuart stands out as a spokesman of passion and conviction.
The bottom line with Ricky is if you want to listen to him, he's not your man to toe the party line.
He'll tell you how he feels. He'll tell you the way it is, according to Ricky.
Take that away, and you'll shut him up.
And in a game short on guys who shoot from the lip, rugby league will have lost the liveliest voice of them all.
