Ricky Stuart is about as old school as any of the modern day NRL head coaches, which is why the details over Jack Wighton's arrest impresses him instead of angering the 56 year-old.
Wighton was arrested alongside Latrell Mitchell on Saturday night in Canberra while the pair celebrated the former's 30th birthday, however things took a turn before 4am when a playful wrestle between mates ended with four policeman pinning Mitchell down while he screamed in pain.
It's now been revealed that Raiders half wasn't originally set to be arrested, however he couldn't leave a close mate like Latrell in distress by himself.
"If you're going to take him you might as well take me," Wighton allegedly told the police, according to The Daily Telegraph.
While the incident is enough to make the majority of NRL coach's blood boil, Ricky Stuart was impressed by Jack's actions, and not wanting to leave a mate behind.
"I believe him in what he described to me as just two cousins mucking around," Stuart told The Canberra Times.
"Jack didn't want to leave Latrell in the situation he was in when he was asked to go, and that's what I love about Jack - he puts his mates first."
While Ricky has the most experience with Jack, coaching him for 193 of his 220 NRL games, another ex-Raider has leapt to Wighton's defence.
Gary Belcher, a try-scorer in the famous 1989 Grand Final against Balmain, echoed Ricky's sentiments, and says he wouldn't be out of place with the old premiership-winning Canberra sides.
"I know times have changed, but I can't believe the hysteria over this," Belcher said.
"I love that Jack is a bit of a rogue and I like that he wears his heart on his sleeve.
"Jack would have fitted in beautifully with the old Raiders premiership sides. He is a brilliant young player who gives his all on the field and he would have had a great time off the field.
"In our day, he would have been wrestling with Ricky Stuart or Mal Meninga and the cops would have come up and said, 'C'mon boys, we know who you are, settle it down'.
"It's a different world now โฆย It says a lot now about modern technology and it p***es me off the way some NRL players get treated.
"If another person was involved, that's different, but if Jack and Latrell are having a wrestle between themselves, who cares, just pull your heads in and use some discretion."
The pair have been cleared to play for the Indigenous All Stars in Rotorua this weekend before facing court for their ages on February 22nd in Canberra.
I suspect that Ricky is simply making the best of a bad job.
If he told Jack what he really thought of him – getting drunk and arrested at 3:30 in the morning – then Jack may well take umbrage and possibly walk out. You know how precious are a lot of these well-paid players.