We love the mighty Canberra Raiders
A quite remarkable coaching record will go on the line when Canberraβs Ricky Stuart leads his side into battle against Parramatta in Friday nightβs semi-final.
A Stuart-coached side has never been knocked out of the NRL post-season before a preliminary final, the Raiders mentor boasting a perfect 7-0 record.
They handled the first half of the equation with a gutsy 28-20 win in Melbourne last Saturday, but are once again underdogs for their trip to CommBank Stadium to take on the Eels.
Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart admits he jumped the gun on Ryan Sutton, writing the Englishman's season off when he injured his finger five weeks ago.
But he's happy Sutton will finally make his NRL finals debut after missing out on both of the Green Machine's previous play-off campaigns.
It looked like the hand injury he suffered against St George Illawarra in round 22 was set to do the same.
Ricky Stuart is confident there'll be no repeat of the seven sin-bin Sunday spectacular last weekend, but says it's up to the players to ensure it doesn't happen.
The Canberra Raiders coach also thinks players are laying down to milk penalties, pointing to the Matt Lodge penalty that cost the Green Machine earlier in the season.
That Rabbitohs-Roosters clash has polarised fans - some loving its brutal physicality that harked back to the good old days, while others felt it crossed the line and...