Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has branded Des Hasler a “scapegoat” amid a turbulent period on the Gold Coast, calling for Titans players to “look at themselves”.
Canberra came away with a 44-18 win over the Knights, surging away in the second half after the scores were locked 18-18 at the break.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Stuart was quizzed on why the Raiders consistently steal momentum from their opponents, scoring four second-half tries on Sunday.
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“Hindy asked me a question in the pre-game about how we faded in the first half last week. Every team has patches of six, seven minutes. Some teams longer,” he explained.
“Where they might drop out of the game a little bit, but momentum is a hard thing to catch in this game, momentum is a hard thing to get back.
“And it’s a fair question, but don’t not recognise the ability of other teams. I mean Parramatta beat the Broncos on Friday night. You know, we had them last week.
“So (much) of the noise out there is, because of where you are and where they are, you will beat them and what not.
“Maybe we should, but we don’t see it like that and that’s probably why we are winning the games, the way that the boys are preparing.
“We don’t see any other team any less. We treat every opposition as thought it’s a game of football and they can beat us.”
With the Knights testing the Raiders in the first 40 minutes, Stuart was then asked if the fact no first grade side can be taken lightly is an indication of a strong competition.
Raiders run riot to sink Knights at home | 02:19
From there, he took aim at the Titans, who pulled off a monumental upset to beat the Warriors 24-16 on their home turf, snapping a four-game losing streak.
The Gold Coast outfit were buoyed by a huge occasion for Hasler, who coached celebrated his 500th game as a first grade coach with a win.
That is despite reports the veteran mentor is on the chopping block, with Hasler reportedly being given a chance to coach in his milestone game before a decision is made on his future.
Stuart was of the belief that the Titans’ issues don’t stem from the coach, who has been unfairly portrayed as the reason behind the club’s issues in 2025.
“Look at the Titans yesterday, if they have that attitude a bit more they have got the players. If they have that attitude a bit more they’d win more games for Des,” Stuart said.
“Instead of Des being the scapegoat. But players have got to take responsibility and that’s what my players are doing.
“(There’s) players at other clubs where the poor old coach is copping it, they have got to look at themselves as well.”
Des marks milestone game with win | 04:58
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Meanwhile, Stuart also urged the Knights to re-sign veteran Dane Gagai after he delivered another strong performance filling in at fullback.
The 34-year-old reportedly has a club option in his contract for 2026 worth $400,000, but he has been informed he will need to take a $100,000 pay cut to re-sign.
That is according to the Newcastle Herald’s Barry Toohey, who revealed Gagai is seriously considering walking out on the club after the 2025 season.
Stuart couldn’t believe the Knights were not coming to the table to re-sign the former representative star.
“Don’t underestimate that football side we played… look at Dane Gagai, he’d be the first bloke I’d re-sign if I was involved with the Knights,” he said.
“He was by far their most hungry, best player out there tonight. He just never stopped trying. You can build teams around a person like Dane Gagai.”
