Canberra Raiders head coach Ricky Stuart has revealed his playing group are now helping him pick his run-on team each week.
Stuart made the surprise call to have Hudson Young not only play, but start on Friday evening just 48 hours after playing Origin 2 for the New South Wales Blues in Perth.
Corey Horsburgh also started the game.
While Horsburgh didn't play Origin 2, he was in the Maroons' squad and both he and Young made the nearly five-hour flight back across the continent the day before taking on the Tigers at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
After running away to an early lead, the 16-0 buffer at halftime was almost chased down by the Tigers, with the Raiders having to turn up over and over again in defence to hang onto the victory.
Stuart revealed he was going to play Young, and potentially Horsburgh, off the bench, only to be convinced otherwise by the playing group, admitting the trust in his players has helped him coaching the team.
“No,” Stuart said during his post-match press conference when asked if he was always planning to play Young.
“I saw him this morning, we went over to the gym here this morning and I said mate, I'm going to start you off the bench and I want you to bring the energy at about the 25-minute mark.
“He said I'm physically right to go. Mentally and physically I'm sweet.
“I said I'm still going to put you on the bench. I think it's best for us because we have practised with the other boys, Simi [Simi Sasagi] and Hosko [Zac Hosking].
“He said OK no worries, I just don't want to change anything. When he said that, I thought nor do I.
“I thought okay. Then I said to Taps [Joe Tapine] and Paps [Josh Papalii], I didn't know if I was going to start Red [Corey Horsburgh] either after a five-hour plane trip yesterday.
“That's where we have grown too. I said Papa, grab Joe, Morgan [Morgan Smithies] and Red, and you come back and tell me who is playing, who is starting.
“I said to Hudson, go and grab Simi and Hosko and tell me who is starting.
“That's the confidence I've got in the boys. It's actually, from a coaching point of view, a massive help.”
In what was a tough slog in cold conditions, the Tigers put the pressure on during the second half, but couldn't find a way over the line against a gallant Canberra side, who have now improved their record to 12 wins and 3 losses.
The Raiders made double the amount of tackles in their own 20 as the Raiders, and Stuart said his side's goal line defence made him proud.
“There is a lot of hunger and care in those efforts and it's something we build our game off,” Stuart said.
“We were probably a bit dumb at times with the footy trying to get out of our end of the field, but you also have to understand there is a lot of fatigue that goes into that.
“When you looking at what you shouldn't be doing with the football after you do that much defence, you have to understand there is a lot of duress and fatigue that the boys are under too, so I'm pretty realistic in those areas and having the ability to defend it the way they did makes you proud.”
Despite being under the pump for much of the second half and having to make 374 tackles, the Raiders only conceded 12 points with Young playing 55 minutes and Horsburgh 59.
