Jed’s NRL debut too emotional for Stuart family
Scott Bailey |
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.
“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.
“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.”
AAP
