Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has revealed how he managed to get import George Williams playing some of the best rugby of his career as the Raiders continue to move deeper into the season.
Speaking onย NRL360ย on Monday, Stuart revealed he had met with Williams' dad, Peter, to better understand how to get the best out of his No.7.
โI was always confident that he was going to make the transition from the Super League to the NRL,โ Stuart said.
โThere were a lot of people talking about how our halves wouldnโt work because we have two runners. I was very happy to have two runners but I was also very confident that George could be a player that could play on the ruck and organise our style of game.
โI got great confidence out of talking to George's father over a couple of beers at the start of the season. I told him my plans for George and said it would probably happen half way through the season and he said thatโs the style George likes to play.โ
Peter is a former juniors coach with Wigan Warriors, with Stuart relying on his knowledge of both George and the game to help his push for the premiership.
โHis father is a coach. He was a coach of Wigan and heโs a coach in Perth now, heโs got a really good footy brain and I really enjoyed talking to him,โ Stuart said.
โOnce I told him my plans for George, it was great to see his confidence in what my thoughts were because I donโt think thereโs anyone who knows your game better than your father, especially when youโve got a father whoโs really passionate about the game itself.
โIt was nice to have a chat and a few beers with him.โ
Williams has flourished in recent weeks, pairing with star Raider Jack Wighton in the heart of the Canberra squad, with Stuart adamant the Englishman will only get better.
โI changed a little bit of Georgeโs style half way through the year which was always going to be the case because I felt as though it was going to be something that was more comfortable for our team and George... and that fact has proven correct,โ Stuart said.
โHeโs been a wonderful asset and he still has so much improvement in his game. Once he gets another season under his belt with Jack Wighton heโs going to go from strength to strength.โ
NRL360ย host Ben Ikin lauded Stuart's coaching style, commending the 12 month turnaround of Hudson Young under Stuart's post.
โOne man I just want to focus on is a young man whoโs had a controversial past, Hudson Young, who Ricky stuck by overtly and saw the future in him, saw the man inside the player and clearly had a lot of time for him,โ Ikin said.
โAgainst the Dragons back in Round 18, seriously he had spiders on him, he was untouchable and I thought โwhere did this come from?โ Itโs been building and building.
โI think beyond what the team is doing, the sign of a good coach is that he improves individuals and what heโs done with Hudson Young is a testament to the coach of the Raiders.โ
Young has become one of the Raiders most improved players in 2020 after being suspended twice in 2019 for eye gouging.
This season, the 22-year-old has been instrumental under Stuart and came up big in the Raiders' semi-final win over Sydney.
