Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has mounted a stern defence of his halfback Ethan Sanders following the 22-year-old's career-best performance in a 40-16 thrashing of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Accor Stadium on Saturday. Sanders scored 16 points, posting four try assists in the strongest outing of his 21-game NRL career.
Sanders shines with four try assists
Sanders' display included a cross-field kick that set up second-rower Zac Hosking's first of three tries, and a grubber kick to the in-goal for Simi Sasagi to push the Raiders 36 points ahead. He also converted five of six attempts and added three penalties.
Stuart compared Sanders' treatment to that of Penrith and NSW Origin star Nathan Cleary, who faced criticism after a poor game two in the State of Origin series before rebounding with a Wally Lewis Medal-winning performance in the decider.
Stuart defends Sanders against critics
“We’ve all been critical of Nathan Cleary in his Origin,” Stuart said. “Ethan Sanders has been criticised and targeted, and I don’t reckon the NSW Origin middles have delivered for Nathan, and they did the other night. Now we’ve got some middles back, and our middles delivered tonight. Class comes on the back of your forwards doing their job and giving you a platform to play off. Then to play like Nathan and play like Ethan, who’s just learning, obviously it makes it a lot easier.”
Sanders replaced Jamal Fogarty after his move to Manly and had struggled to meet expectations in 2026, with the Raiders slipping to 12th on the ladder. Stuart said halfbacks operating without sturdy middle forwards face uphill battles.
“It’s hard kicking on the back foot, it’s hard playing on the back foot, and that’s what Sanders had to endure or handle over the last number of months,” he added.
Stuart feels vindicated by team performance
Asked if he felt rewarded for keeping Sanders in the side, Stuart said: “I don’t need to be rewarded, I know what I’m doing.” He added that the above-expectations performance left him feeling vindicated after a poor run of form.
“It’s very hard for me to sit here when we’re getting beaten and telling you what I think I know, because you’re only going to get bashed up socially and bashed up publicly. Those dicks don’t know,” Stuart said.
Injuries and late finals push
A slew of injuries has cost the Raiders' season, but the team is piecing itself back together. Second-rowers Noah Martin and Zac Hosking, who scored a combined four tries against the Bulldogs, have recently returned from injury. Only centre Seb Kris remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Despite a full contingent, looming fixtures against Penrith, Newcastle and Cronulla present a tough path to the top eight for the 2025 minor premiers.
