Canberra coach Ricky Stuart had made the decision that his son, Jed – a player rising through the ranks at the Raiders – was going to be left out of the squad for Las Vegas.
Stuart’s decision, partly motivated by a concern over accusations of nepotism, was met with resistance by some of the club’s senior players.
Jed Stuart in action for the Raiders in a trial match.Credit: Getty
Raiders captain Joe Tapine phoned Stuart at the start of the month to raise his concerns over the coach’s decision to not bring his 23-year-old son on the trip. It was followed up by Hudson Young and Jamal Fogarty, who also both approached Stuart about the decision.
“I actually told ‘Stick’ (Stuart) that he should bring Jed because he had been training unreal, but Stick was hesitant because it’s his son,” Tapine said.
“I said ‘bring him over, man’. He does all the little things right and is probably one of our best defensive wingers. That’s why he’s over here.”
While Jed won’t play in Las Vegas barring injury, he’s on the verge of making his NRL debut in 2025.
Joe Tapine and coach Ricky Stuart celebrate his Mal Meninga medal win as Canberra’s best player in 2022.Credit: NRL Photos
There have been several father-son duos in the NRL over recent years, obviously none more successful than Nathan and Ivan Cleary at the Penrith Panthers.
But not all of the situations have been positive, with Brad and Jake Arthur, Kyle and Shane Flanagan and Kevin and Billy Walters having to contend with accusations of nepotism. Stuart is mindful of not burdening his son with that pressure, but was happy to take the advice of his senior players.
“They came and spoke to me about it,” Stuart said. “I wasn’t going to take him originally, but I believed them. It was just difficult because it’s my son. But through training and trial form it just happened. We had a strong chat about it and I decided they were right.”
The Canberra Raiders at the Las Vegas Knights NHL game on Saturday night with Jed Stuart (front right).Credit: Canberra Raiders
The NRL pays for 23 players to travel with each of the squads. The Raiders added two extras to their list, including an 11th hour call up for highly-regarded teenager Noah Martin. The club also sent over six additional staff members on top of the NRL allowance.
“Don Furner (Raiders CEO) actually approached me about Noah and said that if you think that he will debut at some stage this year, you should take him. From an ability point of view I’m more than comfortable that he will. So he said ‘I’ll look after it then’. It was a wonder call by Don to offer the gesture and make sure we didn’t stop the young fella from coming.”
Molo’s big call
Francis Molo has a huge decision to make in the coming days. The disgruntled Dragons prop, who has been given permission to talk to rival clubs after agitating for a release, is currently on mental health leave and hasn’t been seen at the Dragons for more than a month.
His leave entitlements, however, are about to expire, leaving the wantaway prop facing the prospect of not being paid if he doesn’t turn up to training.
Dragons prop Francis Molo.Credit: Getty Images
The Dragons want to sign Wests Tigers prop David Klemmer but can’t do so until Molo departs. Molo has now appointed a lawyer, but at the heart of the Dragons’ frustrations is the timing of Molo’s grievances.
The incident which allegedly sparked his desire to leave the red V occurred almost four months ago. Some are wondering why it took Molo so long to raise concerns about the comments made to him by a coaching staff member.
Those close to Molo say he was deeply offended.
The Dragons feel let down given they agreed to and paid Molo a significant advance to help him build a new house for his family.
That advance will have to be returned to the club, but the Dragons are also seeking compensation from a rival club in the form of money or a player in exchange for his release.
Computer says no
The NRL avoided a major debacle by pre-checking in the teams before they arrived at Resorts World in Las Vegas over the weekend.
The computer system the hotel uses crashed and guests have been waiting up to four hours in queues to be served upon arrival.
The players, however, were ushered straight to their rooms, leaving most of the complaining to the strong media contingent staying at the precinct. Some demanded vouchers for the inconvenience. We won’t name names.
Loaded up
The Penrith Panthers and Canberra Raiders unknowingly caused some commotion at San Francisco airport on their way to Las Vegas.
Both teams were on the same plane, meaning the seemingly endless required supply of gear and equipment came with them.
Unfortunately, it meant the plane was over the maximum weight limit. The flight was delayed an hour after the airline had to make an announcement to all passengers, who were already seated, offering a $500 voucher to anyone who was willing to get off the plane and check themselves onto a later flight. There were no takers among both teams.
Tiger Woods
The NRL have got plenty of value out of their decision to send Triple M Breakfast’s Aaron Woods on an American adventure to promote their games in Las Vegas.
The recently retired former Australian and NSW prop has been front and centre of a number of major US sporting events over the past week or so.
Alan Ritchson with Aaron Woods during pace car training prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.Credit: Getty
A Public Relations agency estimated that the NRL was able to gain the equivalent of $23 million in advertising through Woods’ appearances and interviews at NASCAR’s Daytona 500 in Florida.
Woods met and mingled with drivers and celebrities alike, and also joined NASCAR legend Michael Waltrip for the grid walk ahead of the race. The race earned 6.761 million viewers on Fox.
The trip also included a trip to Charlotte, where he appeared in Netflix’s WWE broadcast as part of a cross-promotion deal struck by the NRL. It had two million views globally and was the highest grossing WWE arena event of all time.
Aaron Woods with wrestler Cody Rhodes in Charlotte last week.Credit: WWE via Getty Images
Woods also met up with Aussie NBA star Josh Green in Los Angeles, as well as a host of NFL players, all while fulfilling his breakfast radio commitments each day in between travel.
