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Brad Fittler<\/a> knows what it's like to be coached by Ricky Stuart<\/a> with the pair winning a premiership together as captain and coach of the Roosters<\/a> in 2002, so the legendary five-eighth has seen his fair share of tirades from the Raiders<\/a> mentor.<\/p>\n And after last week's classic Stuart press conference, where he teed off over what he sees as "frustrating" and "confusing" interpretations of the rules<\/a> from referees from week to week, Fittler expects a "reaction" from Raiders players when they host the Cowboys on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Crichton axed as Joey makes sweeping NSW changes<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Dizzy' Sinner stunned at French Open<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Maroon fumes over 'unfair' Origin expectations\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n After winning the minor premiership last season, the Raiders have struggled to maintain the rage this season and sit 12th on the ladder, two wins out of the eight.<\/p>\n If they are to challenge for a finals spot, they will need to start to make a move and string together \ufeffsome wins, starting with Sunday's round 13 match against a dangerous opponent.<\/p>\n Neither the Raiders nor the Cowboys are expected to be impacted by Origin, with NSW heroes Ethan Strange<\/a> and Hudson Young both getting through Wednesday night's last gasp win<\/a> unscathed, while Reuben Cotter – the Cowboys' only representative for Queensland – also got through the game without any fitness queries.<\/p>\n All three players have been named to start Sunday's clash<\/a>, leaving it delicately balanced, with the Cowboys in better form but the Raiders highly capable.<\/p>\n Speaking on Wide World of Sports' Freddy and The Eighth's Tips<\/em><\/a>, both Andrew Johns and \ufeffFittler raised the difficulty of getting to Canberra from Townsville as a factor, with no direct flights between the two cities available.<\/p>\n Watch the 2026 NRL season live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\ufeff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n But it was Stuart's spray after last Thursday's Raiders loss to the Dolphins that swayed Fittler to pick the home side.<\/p>\n "I'm going to go the Raiders at home," Fittler said.<\/p>\n "Ricky had a big blow up last week, I think they'll get a reaction."\ufeff<\/p>\n \ufeffScroll below for the current leaderboard and round 13 tips by all Nine's expert tipsters!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Having trouble viewing the graphic? Click<\/strong> here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Stuart](\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pickerimage-30.jpg\")
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