Ricky retreats to safety of stands
Ricky Stuart will revert to watching games from the privacy of the coaches box and ditch the sideline because he no longer wants his emotions on full display.
Stuart was cleared by the NRL of directing verbal abuse towards referee Henry Perenara after last Saturday’s 34-31 loss to the New Zealand Warriors.
Perenara was in line with the play when Kodi Nikorima threw a forward pass to Ben Murdoch-Masila, who scored. The NRL later confirmed it was the wrong decision and the try should not have been allowed.
Stuart was unimpressed at the time and could not hide his frustrations when kicking over a plastic chair late in the game.
Matt Hall, a rookie ground manager and former referee from Canberra, included in his official report Stuart had directed an expletive in the direction of Perenara.
While Stuart maintained that was never the case, he told the Sydney Morning Herald it was time he retreated high into the stands and is seen less by fans and TV cameras at the stadium.
Stuart made the decision to switch to the sidelines a few years ago and maintained he did his best work when in the thick of the action and surrounded by his players. Several rival NRL coaches have since followed suit and watch the action unfold from ground level.
Stuart said he would be in the coach’s box at Nestrata Jubilee Stadium today for the clash against the Gold Coast Titans.
‘‘I’m definitely considering moving back into the coach’s box,’’ Stuart told the Sydney Morning Herald . ‘‘I’ve always had plenty of emotion and passion, and I’ve never used that passion as an excuse for my actions. I certainly did nothing wrong last weekend. The NRL know that.
‘‘I had a private conversation with [NRL chief executive] Andrew Abdo, we discussed the situation [with Perenara], I totally understand where Andrew was coming from, and he also had a clearer picture of where I was coming from.
‘‘I feel I coach the best when I’m on the sidelines. But I’m going back into the box. I’ll be in the box on Saturday. It’s probably best people no longer see that passion from me on the side of the field.’’
NRL head of football Graham Annesley said at his weekly briefing at the start of the week about Nikorima’s forward pass: ‘‘I’m not going to stand here and try to pretend it wasn’t forward. On the evidence available, the refereeing department has determined that was a forward pass.’’
Stuart did not want to revisit Perenara’s howler, and refused to take questions about it at the postmatch press conference because he did not want to be fined A$20,000.
He even said after the game: ‘‘If all the fine money was going to the Ricky Stuart Foundation I’d tell you the truth today. If I get fined, [at least] I know the money is going to the best cause I know of.
‘‘I can’t tell you the truth and can’t tell you the way the game panned out because I’ll get fined. I won’t answer any questions. I’ve done my job. Thanks.’’
Perenara has fallen down the refereeing pecking order and was only given the Raiders game when Matt Cecchin fell ill. He is not in charge of any NRL games this week.
Stuart said on Thursday about Nikorima’s pass: ‘‘I won’t discuss that error – the league have handled that well. I’ve put it behind me like our team have.’’