NSWRL chairman John Chalk has revealed Ricky Stuart will be offered a three-year contract to stay as State of Origin coach, but is against him combining the role with an NRL club job.
Stuart's current deal expires this year following last Wednesday night's 21-20 defeat by Queensland and, although he was unable to end a run of seven successive series wins for Mal Meninga's Maroons, the Blues made great strides since his return to the position in 2010.
The 45-year-old has been linked with a return to former club Canberra, with David Furner believed to be under pressure to keep his job. Parramatta and St George Illawarra have also been mentioned as potential destinations, and Stuart has made no secret of wanting to return to the NRL at some stage.
However, Chalk is hoping Stuart will agree to stay on once he had conducted a debrief of this year's series defeat, but admitted he was unsure what his plans will entail.
''When the time comes around for our debrief, Ricky will fill us in,'' Chalk told ABC Radio yesterday. ''The way he has worked with us has been very transparent and we have a good relationship with his manager John Fordham. It would be wrong of me to say what he will do until we have a debrief.
''We probably have a little bit of time on our side. It's not something any of us are going to rush into. But in saying that, we are going to do it sooner rather than later. But if I was a coach in 'clubland', I'd be looking at Ricky if I was doing the recruiting.''
However, Chalk said he would be against Stuart combining the roles as the modern-day pressure cooker environment of Origin is too great.
''The pressure of week in, week out NRL coaching is that you have so many people to please,'' he said. ''You have fans, you have committees and that pressure is a bit unforeseen.
''Origin may be only three games, but the intensity and the pressure of those three games, the build-up, dealing with the press, is very high.''
Meanwhile, restoring Canberra Stadium to a graveyard for visiting teams is essential if the Raiders are to embark on a late surge to the finals, captain David Shillington says.
Considered a strong chance for the wooden spoon only a few weeks ago, the Raiders are only two points adrift of the eighth-placed Warriors with eight games to go after Saturday night's 40-12 thumping of Melbourne at AAMI Park.
They probably need to win six of their remaining matches to return to the finals for the first time since 2010. To do that again, they need to rectify a wobbly home record.
The Raiders have won only three of their six games at home this season. Five of the Raiders' eight remaining games are at home, starting with Sunday's match against Gold Coast. ''We definitely want to make Canberra Stadium a fortress and a more intimidating place than it has been this year,'' Shillington said.
Source: Brisbane Times
Topic: Blues Want Stuart all to Themselves
