Canberra players have backed coach Ricky Stuart, saying there is nothing more he could have done this season.
Amid coaching dramas elsewhere in the NRL, Stuart has escaped scrutiny for Canberra's under-performing 2018 campaign, but ex-player turned pundit Mark Riddell had a crack at turning up the heat this week.
The former St George Illawarra and Parramatta hooker described Stuart's record with the Raiders as the "elephant in the room".
"Every other coach gets critiqued on their results and you look at the results of the Canberra Raiders in the last five years - no other coach in the game would be coaching if they had that record," Riddell said on Macquarie Sports Radio.
The Raiders' best season under Stuart was 2016 when they made a preliminary final, but they have missed finals in every other year since he took over in 2014.
Only winger Edrick Lee is no longer at the club from the starting team that came within two points of making the grand final two years ago.
But Lee's departure has allowed teenage sensation Nick Cotric make his mark as one of the most exciting prospects in the NRL and he was close to making his State of Origin debut for NSW this year.
Forwards Junior Paulo and Shannon Boyd, along with five-eighth Blake Austin, are leaving at the end of this season.
Stuart has cited injuries to star hooker Josh Hodgson and captain Jarrod Croker as well as fullback Jack Wighton's suspension as key factors which held the team back this year.
With the Raiders' NRL finals hopes again dead and buried as they sit 10th with a 8-13 record, winger Jordan Rapana and forward Luke Bateman threw their support behind Stuart on Thursday.
"We were very unlucky with injuries and suspensions, (Stuart) did the best he could and the players he brought in were the right players," Rapana said.
"We have belief in every player that comes in here and I know Ricky does too, that's why he plays them."
Bateman agreed.
"Ricky's been dealt a few tough cards during the year injury-wise and what he's done for the team and decisions he's made, I don't think anyone could've done any better," Bateman said.
Speaking in a podcast for the club, Stuart couldn't contain his frustrations at a season where the Raiders have scored the most points in the competition and have lost seven games by six points or less.
"As the head coach and the guy who has to be accountable for it all, it's probably the most frustrating period of coaching I've ever been involved in," Stuart said.
"The way we've been getting beaten is different to being beaten by three, four or five tries and you know you're not in the game."
