Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has hailed Sam Williams for the way he handled his NRL omission in favour of Aidan Sezer.
Williams was named at halfback for Friday’s match against the Wests Tigers but was dropped in favour of Sezer on Stuart’s pre-game hunch.
The Raiders routed the Tigers 28-0 and have moved into fourth spot.
“(Williams) made over 30 tackles (last week) as a halfback and Sammy hasn’t got a big body and it was a shorter turnaround,” Stuart said.
“I just had a gut feeling that this is a week where I needed Aidan. He’s got good leg speed, he had a bigger frame.”
Stuart said Williams, who was the team’s halfback for the past 10 games after Sezer’s own axing, handled the demotion with class.
“He epitomises that team-first value that we talk about. That can be overused, that value. But definitely not with Sam Williams,” Stuart said.
“He actually even said, ‘You know, I’ve been dropped before for missing tackles. I’ve never been dropped for making them’.
“He handled it quite well but he’ll be back in there at some stage. I’m very fortunate at the moment where I have that opportunity to pick and choose.”
Stuart was also ecstatic with his team’s defence, which kept an opposition team scoreless for the third time this season.
Their 13.8 points conceded per game is second only to Melbourne.
“You can’t defend like that if you haven’t got the right attitude and the will to play for each other. That was really evident tonight,” he said.
Stuart also used the Raiders’ first visit to Bankwest Stadium as an opportunity to plead for a new home in the nation’s capital.
“I don’t know if it’s a political thing. I don’t know if we’ve got the money, I don’t know if the light rail has taken all our money or whatnot,” Stuart said.
“This would put Canberra, the nation’s capital, into another level of living, having a stadium such as this quality.”