Latest news with #RickyStuart
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Footy star Josh Papalii misses birth of his son as Raiders march to top of NRL ladder - 'unbelievable sacrifice'
Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has hailed the 'unbelievable sacrifice' of Josh Papalii's wife, after she gave her blessing for the veteran prop to miss the birth of their son so he could play against the Knights on Friday night. Sepa Salesa welcomed the couple's fourth child - Jeremiah Papalii - into the world just hours before kick-off, and it didn't go unnoticed by a thankful Stuart. 'The reason I have Paps here today, an unbelievable sacrifice from Sepa - Josh's wife - who had a baby boy this afternoon, Jeremiah,' Stuart told reporters at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle at the post-game press conference. 'It was always going to be touch and go whether Sepa could hang on or what not, but she wanted Josh to go away and play. 'It was an unbelievable sacrifice from a new mother.' Papalii - who chalked up 106 running metres and made 31 tackles as the Raiders won 22-18 to become the new NRL ladder leaders - said he was 'pretty excited' and was 'looking forward to checking on the wife and holding my new son.' Papalii - who chalked up 106 running metres and made 31 tackles as the Raiders won 22-18 in Newcastle - said he was 'looking forward to checking on the wife and holding my new son' 'I told 'Sticky' at the start of the week that she was sort of due around Friday,' he added. 'I also told the boys that my missus said make sure we come home with the two points and she'll deliver the baby. 'I'm glad both happened.' It comes as Papalii prepares to leave the club at the end of the season, with St Helens his destination next year in the English Super League. 'Papa came and spoke to (CEO) Don Furner and I some time ago and told us that he has some interest in England and also other NRL he simply said, 'I can't play against the Raiders,' Stuart told News Corp. 'From our club's point of view, we couldn't be prouder of Josh. 'He's been an extremely loyal player and when the discussion turns to legends of the Raiders, one of the first names spoken will be Papa's.' Papalii, 33, made his NRL debut with Canberra in 2011 and is now the club's most capped player. The prop's form has been so impressive this season that he could earn a recall for Queensland ahead of the Origin series decider on July 9 in Sydney.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Unbelievable sacrifice': Ricky goes public with news about Josh Papalii and wife
Ricky Stuart produced a brilliant gesture for Josh Papalii after Canberra's win over Newcastle on Saturday night, bringing him into the post-match press conference to announced the birth of his fourth child. Papalii had another barnstorming game, running for 106 metres and making 31 tackles as the Raiders won 22-18. The 33-year-old made a surprise appearance alongside Stuart and Canberra captain Joseph Tapine in the post-match press conference, and Stuart started by revealing why. The coach described it as an "unbelievable sacrifice" from Papalii's wife Sepa to give him her blessing to travel to Newcastle and miss the birth, which happened just hours before the game. 'The reason I bought Paps along today, an unbelievable sacrifice from Sepa Papalii - Josh's wife - who had a baby boy this afternoon, Jeremiah,' Stuart said. 'It was always going to be touch and go whether Sepa could hang on or what not, but she wanted Josh to go away and play. It was an unbelievable sacrifice from a new mother so I thought I'd bring Josh along.' Papalii said: 'Pretty excited. Can't wait to go back and check on the wife and hold my new son. "I told 'Sticky' at the start of the week that she was sort of due around tonight. I told the room that my missus told me to make sure we come home with the two points and she'll deliver the baby. I'm glad we did both.' Stuart added: 'I'm glad she held her end of the bargain up.' Stuart and Papalii have a special bond, as shown when the coach burst into tears when Papalii scored in his 319th first-grade game earlier this month - breaking the record for most ever by a Canberra player. The veteran forward's love of the Raiders is so strong that he refuses to play for any other NRL club, and will instead move to England next year to finish his career with St Helens. 'Papa came and spoke to (CEO) Don Furner and I some time ago and told us that he has some interest in England and also other NRL clubs and he simply said, 'I can't play against the Raiders and I'll look to secure a contract in England at some stage'," Stuart told The Daily Telegraph. 'From our club's point of view, we couldn't be prouder of Josh. 'He's been an extremely loyal player and when the discussion turns to legends of the Raiders, one of the first name's spoken will be Papa's. How this unfolds for Papa I'm not sure, but what I do know is that he'll give everything he has until the very last step he takes on the field for the Raiders." Papalii's form has been so good that some have suggested Billy Slater should bring him out of rep retirement to play in the State of Origin decider for Queensland. Papalii has played 25 games for the Maroons, but retired from rep footy back in 2023. Whispers have re-emerged ahead of Game 3 that Slater might try and convince Papalii to backflip, and Matty Johns is all for it. "Little bit of talk going around about Josh Papalii," Johns said on SEN radio on Friday. "Maybe Billy selecting him for Game 3 out of the blue. "I think it would be a fantastic move for Queensland. To come down to Sydney for a decider and to bring someone with the presence of 'Big Papa' and his leadership, I think it would be a masterstroke." RELATED: The one club banned from signing Selwyn Cobbo early revealed Panthers star in doubt for State of Origin 3 in concern for NSW Ben Hunt said on 4BC radio last week: 'I would love to see big Paps out there. There was never a time when he pulled on the jumper that he let Queensland down and he is playing great footy at the moment. He is the ultimate warrior. He would bring some real aggression up front if we brought him back in.'
ABC News
a day ago
- Sport
- ABC News
NRL live updates: Manly host Wests Tigers, Canberra fight for top spot against Newcastle
Wests Tigers have been dealt a hammer blow after halfback Jarome Luai was ruled out of their game against Manly due to an infection. Luai is expected to be fit for State of Origin III but will not take the field at Brookvale, with Api Koroisau moving to halfback. Later, Canberra will travel to Newcastle and the stakes are high for Ricky Stuart's side given they can assume first place on the ladder with a win. Follow the live blog below, keep up to date with all the latest stats in our ScoreCentre, and tune in to our live radio coverage.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jed's NRL debut too emotional for Stuart family
Ricky Stuart was so emotional in the days leading up to his son Jed's NRL debut that he could barely speak to the Canberra winger. And so nervous was he about how his middle child would go against the Wests Tigers, the veteran Raiders mentor lost sleep thinking about Friday night's game. All the while, Jed was sleeping like a baby, having felt ready for his shot at the top grade for some time. THE DEBUTANT 🔥Raider #404 Jed Stuart scores on debut!#WeAreRaiders — Canberra Raiders (@RaidersCanberra) June 20, 2025 "He didn't talk to me much during the week," the 23-year-old revealed. "Every time he brought it up he'd get emotional. I'm just glad we got the win for him, he would have been so disappointed if we didn't. "The week was good. I found out last Tuesday because the boys had the bye and I had to know if I was playing Cup or not. "I had a week to process everything, tell the close family and get the messages from them and what-not. "I was more nervous about being nervous. Then, getting here I was just excited to get out there and play with the boys." Stuart Snr. need not have worried. Only on rare occasions in the lead-up did emotions take over for Jed. He had a sleepless night before Monday's jersey preparation, and there were tears before leaving home later in the week. But he was calm once getting to the ground, with 70 friends and family known to be attending the match and another bus coming up from Canberra. See the special moment Jed Stuart was presented with his first NRL jersey by his family in the lead up to his debut on Friday night. #WeAreRaiders — Canberra Raiders (@RaidersCanberra) June 16, 2025 "The only time I got emotional was when I went home just before coming to Campbelltown and mum gave me a hug to say goodbye," Jed said. "She said I'd been telling her that I wanted to play NRL since I was three years old, and 'now you're doing it'. "That got the tears going a bit." Jed's jersey was presented by his mother Kaylie rather than Ricky, while it was Raiders captain Joe Tapine who called the Raiders flyer to tell him he was debuting. On the field, Jed showed why Raiders players have been telling Ricky for months that the winger was ready. He caught an attacking bomb with his first touch, saved a 40-20 with a bat-back and scored a first-half try with a corner put down in the 16-12 win. It was at that point when the try was scored that Stuart Snr. admitted to the emotions of a dad briefly overtaking those of an NRL coach. "But then we had a game to win too, and I had to be the coach," Ricky said. "This week has been the hardest week I've had as a coach "From a father's point of view, I don't want him to be man of the match. I just want him to hold his own. And he did that. "I've been waking up 3am with some real bad thoughts, but he didn't do those tonight which was good." Both will now have it easier ahead of next Friday against Newcastle. "I was just happy to get one, I couldn't even dream of doing that," Jed said of his try. "I was just keen as, happy as, emotions running wild."
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Raiders players in staggering move for Ricky Stuart and son after 'hardest week'
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has admitted handing son Jed Stuart his debut prompted one of the 'hardest weeks' of his professional career having needed to lean on Canberra's senior group for support. Stuart was a proud coach, but an even prouder father on Friday night after handing Jed Stuart his debut for the Raiders on the left wing. And Stuart rewarded the faith in his father with a try to help Canberra defeat the Wests Tigers 16-14 to help keep them second on the ladder behind the Bulldogs. And while Stuart and the playing group embraced Jed after the game, the coach admitted the build-up to the Friday night game would rank as one of the toughest of his professional NRL career. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Stuart said the concerns he had around his son resulted in the hardest week in his 23-year coaching career. 'This week has been the hardest week I've had since I've coached,' Stuart admitted. "Because from a father's point of view, I don't want him to come out and be man of the match, I just want him to hold his own. And he did that. The amount of times I've been waking up at 3am with real bad thoughts ... He didn't have any of those tonight, which was good." But incredibly, it was the senior playing group's move that helped Stuart make the decision to play his son on debut. Stuart didn't want to give his son any handouts in the side. Savelio Tamale was performing brilliantly as the left-winger in 2025, before a season-ending injury to his knee left the position vacant. Stuart admitted he didn't just make the decision to select his son by himself, but rather approached the playing group. And captain Joseph Tapine and the senior players gave Stuart the support he needed to make the call. 'The senior players are a massive support to me,' Stuart said. 'When I talked to the Club 82 boys led by Joe (Tapine), they wanted nothing else but to put Jed in there and that gave me confidence to select him. 'There's no way I would have thrown Jed in there if I didn't have the support of my players. Personally, I knew he was ready. But I still needed to make sure that I had confidence from the boys.' Stuart was embraced by all his teammates having scored the try to extend the Raiders' lead in the first-half. And after the game the winger admitted he was emotional having spoken to his mother just before kick-off. "Before I left to come to Sydney, mum gave me a cuddle and said 'you've wanted to play NRL since you were three, and now you're finally doing it,'" Jed Stuart said to ABC Radio. "That made me cry a fair bit, that." Speaking about the win, which lifted them to second-place behind the Bulldogs, Stuart was full of praise for captain Tapine who opened the scoring in the first-half. "That's why I've been saying for the past two years I think he is the best front-rower in the game," Stuart said. "There is a lot of athleticism in those efforts." While the Raiders are flying, Benji Marshall was left frustrated with his team dropping their fourth-straight loss.
