Ricky Stuart hit Hudson Young straight between the eyes, without a hint of irony.
If it happened again, I wasn't going to have a contract at Canberra, Young says, with the sheepish grin most players on the end of a Sticky spray eventually muster. He wasn't wrong. If it happened again, I wasn't getting a contract at any club.
It wasn't the first time Young has had to confront his rugby league mortality, but ideally, it will the last. Young is now 24, with a starting NSW No.12 jersey and an upgraded, three-year Raiders deal worth a reported $2.8 million in the mail as well.