Parramatta halfback Chris Sandow is excited at the prospect of working under Ricky Stuart and says he’s more than happy to receive the odd spray from the former Australian coach.
Stuart will be unveiled as Eels coach on Thursday and, although most of the squad said on Wednesday they were unaware of his imminent arrival, Sandow said the appointment would be a huge boost to the NRL club.
“Ricky would be a good buy for us – we need someone like that to come in, as we’ve had some difficult circumstances this year,” Sandow said.
“Ricky is an Origin coach and that can only be good for us.”
Sandow has struggled to replicate the form that persuaded the Eels to fork out more than $500,000 a season to bring him to the club from South Sydney this season.
However, the 25-year-old believes getting the chance to work under the guidance of a former superstar No.7 like Stuart would improve him as a player.
He also said the notoriously-intense nature of Stuart’s coaching is not something that he is fazed by, having been giving plenty of honest feedback from veteran former Souths mentor John Lang.
“He was the Australian halfback and it will be good to have him here and see what he says,” he said.
“You see Ricky on the TV carrying on and getting up the players and that is something we will have to adapt to as we are a young squad.
“But it’s good. Langy was much the same and he gave me a few sprays at Souths.
“You just have to take it on board. I am sure it is meant well and it just makes you want to prove them wrong.”
The mercurial playmaker said he’s also happy to learn how to play under the disciplined approach that will be demanded by Stuart.
“Sure I can change – everyone is learning,” Sandow said.
“Even Hindy, who has been playing the game for 16 years, said the other day that he learnt something new.”
Sandow said the departure of Steve Kearney last week was difficult for the players and there was a determination to send the Kiwi Test coach out as a winner when the Eels shocked Melbourne last Saturday.
“With Steve, it came back to how we played on the field, and not him as a coach,” he said.
“He put the plans in place – we couldn’t execute them properly.
“How we played against Melbourne was how we should have played at the start of the year.
“I was sad to see him leave.”