Ricky Stuart says Canberra's gutsy drought-breaking NRL victory over Canterbury has "shoved it straight back" in the face of critics.
His Raiders had been under the pump after going 0-4 for the first time since 1997, marred by three defeats by a combined total of five points.
There had been question marks over Canberra's fitness contributing to fade outs late in games but Stuart believes playing most of the second half with one fit player on the bench answered those questions.
The final two minutes were played with no available player on the sidelines after Aidan Sezer was left dazed following a big hit from Bulldogs captain Josh Jackson.
That was on the top of a knee injury to Sezer's halves partner Sam Williams, along with concussions to Ata Hingano and Michael Oldfield.
"Last week we had a fair bit of adversity to play under and they handled that pressure and that fatigue very well," Stuart said on Friday.
"All the critics were telling me over the last month that we were an unfit football team.
"We played with five interchange last week so I think that shoved it straight back in their face."
The adversity Stuart touched on was combined with fullback Jack Wighton facing an ACT court on Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty to nine charges.
Wighton will face court again on July 10 for a one-day hearing.
Stuart declined to comment on Wighton's case, but confirmed the 25-year-old would play against Parramatta at GIO Stadium and was handling the extra scrutiny.
