Ricky Stuart coached Craig Fitzgibbon at the Roosters in the early 2000s, and now he’s coaching against him in a final.
The Raiders coach admitted with a smile “I don’t like it” when asked about coaching against his former player.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Craig. He’s a good bloke, and was a great player. Only in a pre-game interview an hour ago I was just talking about that,” he told Nine.
“His team replicates the way Craig played, he’s tough, honest and he’s a good mate. And I always say you know it’s like with JT (Johnathan Thurston), after you coach a player, whether it’s club level, rep level, you always want to be able to be mates with them and share a beer with them.”