Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has thrown his support behind Jamal Fogarty and Tom Starling ahead of impending decisions on the pair’s future at the club.
Speaking after the Raiders scored a miraculous last minute win over the Sharks in Canberra on Thursday night, Stuart was adamant both Fogarty and Starling were a major reason his side is sitting inside the top eight with three wins from five matches.
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Canberra has a round six deadline to offer Fogarty an extension amid reports that Manly are prepared to bring the half to Brookvale to replace departing club legend Daly Cherry-Evans.
With the deadline approaching to keep Fogarty, Stuart said talks were underway.
“They’re things I just talk to Jamal about and I’ll talk to his management, but they’re the personal things that you’ve got to understand, respectfully, you’ve got to understand that, you know, we have communication, and we have conversations all the time,” Stuart said.
“Both those boys know exactly what I want with them at this point. They’re both big parts of the Raiders.”
Fogarty’s kicking game was outstanding against the Sharks and he would be considered the best number seven on the market if he were to leave the Raiders.
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Meanwhile, Starling is having the best season of his career, starting in every match despite the emergence of prodigious hooker Owen Pattie being part of the Raiders’ 17 each week.
“Jamal knows what I want, and I said it during the week that these senior boys, and it’s not just Jamal and Tommy,” Stuart said.
“We’ve got a lot of senior boys with younger blokes who are very good football players coming through.
“It’s up to the senior boys to keep their positions. And it’s not just Jamal and Tommy I’m talking about, it’s a number of boys. It’s up to them to keep their positions.
“We need depth here and we’ve taken another journey in regards to how we’re going to create our own marquee players, and I need senior players around these younger players coming through.
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“By the way Tommy Starling is playing at the moment and the way Jamal Fogarty is playing at the moment. That is great role models on game day, role models on the field for these younger blokes coming through.
“I mean, Owen Pattie’s not in any rush. Owen Pattie’s doing a wonderful job for us coming on and at times I apologise I can’t get him any minutes and he does not even blink an eye. Tommy’s doing a great job, but I need depth in positions.
“When you’re doing your categorisation of your roster, there’s certain positions that you need depth in.”
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