'Willy-nilly': Raiders coach Ricky Stuart backflips on six-again stance
Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has backflipped on his stance concerning the six-again rule, arguing the way it's interpreted now is ruining "the fabric of the game".
Speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, Stuart admitted he was originally a fan of the rule but had since changed his mind.
The six-again has become a hot topic in the NRL with confusion about what they're being given out for.
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Paul Gallen and Phil Gould have both been critical, with the latter saying on Nine's 100% Footy "look at all the six-agains in the game, my god they're going to wave their arms off".
Ricky Stuart. Canberra Raiders
Stuart has now joined the chorus of frustration.
"I was a fan of the six-again but I think we've lost the fabric of the game. The interpretation regarding six-agains is just given now willy-nilly," the Raiders coach said.
"There's no repercussions on the decision right at the time, where, for me, a six-again is something that you would have penalised.
"It's got to be penalty-worthy and I don't believe it is at the moment, and that's why we're getting so much criticism.
"Making the game faster doesn't necessarily make it more attractive because the score line is 50-30. I don't believe that is more attractive."
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Stuart's position is a change from March this year when he gave fans an ultimatum to either watch players wrestle or deal with the current rule.
"I want to eliminate wrestle, I want to have speed in the game, and if the six-again is the way to go then that is the way to go. We've got to have that," he said.
"I don't think we want to see the wrestle and the ugliness on the ground. I think that's a blight on our game.
"Testing skill and testing defence in regards to the speed of the game is probably what the fans want to see.
"I don't enjoy getting six-agains against our team but we're doing everything we can to have a cleaner ground and get the execution correct so we're not giving it away.
"As a coach, as long as the referees are consistent with the six-agains and they are also coming down on high-profile players in regards to six-agains, I'm comfortable with it."
