Eric Smith, a Raiders fan, was surprised when Ricky Stuart offered him an assistant coaching role.
Eric Smith grew up as a Canberra Raiders fan in Tumut.
So imagine his surprise when Raiders coach Ricky Stuart called him out the blue to talk about joining the Green Machine as an assistant coach.
He's yet to sit down with the Canberra great to find out why he was on his radar to replace departing assistant Mick Crawley.