Canberra Coach Encourages Young Winger to Believe in His Talent
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has been vocal about the importance of confidence for young players, especially after a challenging performance from winger Savelio Tamale in a recent match. During the 36-34 victory over the Rabbitohs in Perth, Tamale struggled with a series of fumbles that raised concerns about his form.
Tamale dropped two high balls in the first half and fumbled an easy pass in the second half, which appeared to be a case of the “yips.” Despite these setbacks, the 21-year-old managed to shine during one key moment in the 28th minute when he scooped up a Rabbitohs fumble and launched a 50m sprint towards the line. However, the highlight almost turned into a disaster as Tamale inexplicably stopped just one metre short of the try line instead of diving over.
This decision allowed South Sydney’s five-eighth Cody Walker to make a heavy tackle on Tamale, who barely managed to touch the ball down before being brought to the ground. After this incident, Stuart had an extended conversation with Tamale, encouraging him to “believe in his ability.”
“He’s a brilliant football player, Sav, a wonderful winger,” Stuart said. “He’s just down on confidence at the moment. And he’s one of those young blokes I’m talking about – he hasn’t felt this. He’s at the start of his career. He really only had one season in NRL, and that was last year. He had a breakout season, got injured, come back, and now a couple of things have gone against him over the last couple of games, and he’s just lacking confidence. We’ve all spoken about it as a group to get around him, and that’s when the care for your players comes in.”
The Raiders were minor premiers last season, but they entered Saturday’s match on a difficult four-match losing streak after starting the year with a golden-point victory over Manly. Stuart acknowledged that many of his young players were struggling with confidence as the losses accumulated.
“They’ve never been in that position before, which is why I try to create less pressure,” Stuart said. “We haven’t changed anything in regards to our training. We’ve been very solid in regards to our preparation. It’s not the way we wanted to start. But the one thing I know, though, they’ll just keep fighting for the jumper, and for one another.”
The Rabbitohs, on the other hand, fell to a 3-2 record after their epic fightback against Canberra came just short. Adding to their woes, fullback Jye Gray is set for a stint on the sidelines after injuring his left shoulder early in the match.
“It’s an AC joint, so it’s pretty sore,” Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett said. “I’ve got to assume it’s going to be two or three weeks at least.”
Cody Walker’s two tries marked the 15th double of his career and also ended a 13-game try drought.
“It should give him some confidence, I’ve got no doubt,” Bennett said.
