Ricky Stuart says NRL coaches who don't like losing players to representative football are talking nonsense.
As Canberra prepare to face an Origin-depleted Sydney Roosters, the Raiders have lost Josh Papalii for Sunday's clash at GIO Stadium.
The Roosters will be without Mitchell Pearce, Blake Ferguson, Boyd Cordner, Dylan Napa and Aidan Guerra.
"All these coaches that complain about having their rep players out, they win grand finals because of rep players. I know what I'd rather have," Stuart said on Thursday.
"I'd prefer to have five rep players out than only one because rep players win grand finals."
Test prop Shannon Boyd and his partner-in-crime Junior Paulo were overlooked along with skipper Jarrod Croker.
Most coaches would relish the chance to have key players on deck during the Origin period, but not Stuart.
"I keep hearing all that type of nonsense, rubbish talk - 'we've got all our rep players out'," he said.
"I've got all my rep players out too - I've only got one."
While Papalii is the sole omission with Sia Soliola set to start in the back row, Stuart isn't underestimating the impact of losing his star forward to Queensland duty.
"We can't replace Papa but the next bloke up is to do a job," he said.
"I'm very confident with the players we've picked we'll be able to perform consistently again, but you can't replace the talent of a bloke like Josh Papalii."
At 5-6, Canberra's season has suffered from inconsistency as they come to grips with losing the element of surprise which helped them charge into a preliminary final last season.
After winning 12 of their last 15 at home, beating the Roosters will be crucial for the Raiders in their last match in Canberra for almost a month.
A victory could also build momentum on the back of ending three-game losing run by scoring a late 22-16 win over Parramatta last week.
"We were better with the football in areas we needed to improve on," Stuart said.
"We've been a little bit impatient with the football and I thought we showed more patience last week."
