NRL: Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart criticises State of Origin stand-down proposal

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart says it's the clubs not the NRL who should decide whether players back up from State of Origin and their stand-down proposal was disrespectful towards coaches. The NRL and Rugby League Players' Association were reportedly in discussions over forcing players to be stood down in the round immediately after Origin. That would mean Raiders and Queensland prop Josh Papalii wouldn't be allowed to play the Melbourne Storm in Melbourne on Sunday. While Papalii has been named to back up from the Maroons' massive win on Wednesday night, some Origin players were being rested. Stuart said that decision should be left to the clubs, who were in the best position to know what was best for their players. He said he monitored and reduced his Origin players' training loads to ensure they were fresh. Having played for and coached NSW in Origin, Stuart said he understood the rigours and would rest players if they needed it. Both Papalii and Jack Wighton, who was the Blues' 18th man, returned to Raiders HQ on Friday morning to do recovery ahead of Saturday's captain's run. "I can't see how that can be an NRL decision. That should be a club decision," Stuart said. "Coaches aren't given enough credit for what we do from a high-performance point of view for our players. "If I thought Josh needed a rest I'll give Josh a rest. "It's not the games that are going to hurt them it's the training. It's the loads they do during the week. "It's not the 40-50 minutes that Josh will play. I hope there's a little bit more consultation over that before they go racing off and making their decision. MORE RAIDERS NEWS "I coach for the care of my player, on and off the field, and if I feel they need a rest - Jack or any of my rep players - we'll rest them. "I've done it before, but we look after their loads. The boys are downstairs now looking after their recovery." Stuart also expected Storm and Maroons hooker Harry Grant to back-up on Sunday, and was also preparing for Melbourne five-eighth Cameron Munster to play. Munster's had COVID-19 and has been in isolation for the past week. "Yep, they've been named so we're preparing for them to play," Stuart said. The Raiders mentor was full of praise for Papalii's performance in helping the Maroons clinch the Origin series at Lang Park on Wednesday night. Papalii had limited minutes in the opening two games, but played 33 minutes in the decider. The 30-year-old has been one of the Green Machine's standout players over the course of their NRL campaign - along with Joe Tapine and Wighton. "I thought Josh was excellent. Josh and Joe Tapine have had a wonderful season," Stuart said. "He didn't get a lot of minutes in games one and two. "He got more minutes last week and from what I've been hearing with Josh and I was watching his game closely and I thought he was doing all the little things really well - working off the football, his line speed. "But his running of the ball and his defence is not a question. I thought he did a great job with all the little things in his game." NRL ROUND 18 Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at Melbourne, 4.05pm. Raiders squad: 1. Xavier Savage, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Ryan Sutton. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. James Schiller, 16. Adam Elliott, 17. Corey Horsburgh. Reserves: 18. Brad Schneider, 19. Ata Mariota, 20. Corey Harawira-Naera, 21. Emre Guler, 22. Albert Hopoate. Storm squad: 1. Ryan Papenhuyzen, 2. Nick Meaney, 3. Marion Seve, 4. Justin Olam, 5. Dean Ieremia, 6. Cameron Munster, 7. Jahrome Hughes, 8. Jesse Bromwich, 9. Harry Grant, 10. Nelson Asofa-Solomona, 11. Felise Kaufusi, 12. Kenny Bromwich, 13. Josh King. Interchange: 14. Tyran Wishart, 15. Tui Kamikamica, 16. Alec MacDonald, 17. Jordan Grant. Reserves: 18. Jayden Nikorima, 19. Chris Lewis, 20. Tom Eisenhuth, 21. Young Tonumaipea, 22. Bronson Garlick. We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: