Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has hit out at criticism of rival NRL clubs, with a few top sides opting to rest players in the final round of the regular season.
Melbourne, South Sydney and Parramatta have all left a host of their big names out for their respective round 25 clashes, and are looking to give themselves a fully-fit side come the first week of the finals.
Canberra are a team who will potentially be a victim of these stars being rested, with Stuart's men relying on Melbourne beating 8th-placed Cronulla to make the finals.
But despite the negative impact it could have on his team, Stuart hit back at those criticising the likes of Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett, and described it as a similar situation to what he had 12 months ago.
“I think if you’ve earned the position to rest players this week, good on you," he said.
"I was criticised last year for debuting so many young players who went out and beat the Sharks – there wasn’t too much criticism after it.
"If we want to start criticising coaches for giving themselves the best shot to win a semi-final, it’s pretty disappointing.
"You are doing everything you possibly can to win a semi-final and if that means resting players, good on you and you’ve earned the opportunity to do that throughout a very tough season."
Canberra will need to defeat the depleted Sydney Roosters and then rely on a Storm outfit missing the likes of Cameron Munster, Felise Kaufusi and Josh Addo-Carr to topple a desperate Sharks side.
The other factor at play for Stuart is the NRL's bid to expand to a 17th team, with meetings taking place between the new franchises and the game's bosses in recent weeks.
He believes giving the opportunity to younger players or fringe first graders is exactly what the game needs as they look to promote a new club.
“We’ve got a game that wants to expand and a game that wants to find another club here in Brisbane," he said.
"Don’t you think it’s a positive that we can actually rest players and give another young bloke an opportunity to play first grade? Give another guy who has been sitting in the wings for the past 4-5 weeks to play first grade?
"You want to talk about expansion – you can’t go criticising coaches for resting players at this stage of the season."
