MARK ‘SPUDD’ CARROLL: Ricky Stuart’s Canberra Raiders to play Ivan Cleary’s Panthers in NRL grand final

Ricky Stuart used to hate me.

Well, that’s what he told me when we went into rep camps for NSW and Australia after giving it to each other in club footy.

Ricky was a brilliant player for the Canberra Raiders and just as good a sledger.

He’d be running off at the mouth from minute one to 80, so I came up with a ploy to put him off his game.

Back when halfbacks had to feed the ball into the middle of the scrum, I’d pack down in the front-row and stomp on his right foot with my 18mm studs.

He’d blow up deluxe and call me all sorts of names, but I’d at least distracted him from the task at hand.

And hopefully it did some damage to that prodigious kicking boot of his.

It was Spudd 1, Sticky 0 until he inevitably came up with some piece of magic to haul that wonderful Raiders side of the late 80s/early 90s over the line.

Ricky was one of the best instinctive players we’ve seen, a free spirit who played what was in front of him.

Who could forget him throwing that intercept pass in the second Test of the 1990 Ashes series?

We all thought he was going home on the next plane out of Manchester until he conjured up a length-of-the-field try for Mal Meninga to steal the game.

He runs to the fire, not away from it.

Sticky’s DNA is all over this current Canberra side.

They chance their arm can from anywhere – as we saw in the Miracle in Mudgee on Friday night – with this free-wheeling style of rugby league.

But that’s only after the tough hombres in the middle have laid the foundations, much like Glenn Lazarus, Ruben Wiki and Brad Clyde used to do back in the day.

Probably the thing that impresses me the most, though, is Ricky’s genuine love for his players and their affection for the coach in return.

You can tell this is a very tight-knit team who are playing for the coach and each other.

There was a beautiful photo of Ricky hugging his players on the sideline following that emotional golden point win over Penrith.

That one image captured how together and connected they are.

The love and respect were also evident when senior players fronted Ricky and told him his son Jed was ready for the NRL after the coach was undecided whether to throw him into the cauldron.

Look how well that’s worked out. Jed is killing it and the Raiders are set to collect their first minor premiership since 1990.

So, can they go all the way?

Bloody oath they can.

Finals are a different beast, but Canberra will have the huge advantage of playing one, if not two, finals at home.

If it all goes to plan, they won’t have to leave town until grand final week.

They don’t fear failure and can’t be intimidated.

And that’s a very dangerous cocktail and one I believe can take them to the big show.

As for their opponent, well, I am going to go out on a limb and predict it will be Penrith despite the premiers likely finishing outside the top four.

A Canberra-Penrith GF…what a walk down memory lane that would be!

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED

I spent Thursday night praying Alex Johnston wouldn’t break the game’s try-scoring record against the Dragons.

And here’s why.

When AJ finally scores those three tries to go past the great Ken Irvine’s mark of 212 “meat pies”, I hope it’s in front of a huge crowd in a big game.

I didn’t want him to do in front of just 7000 fans on wet and cold Thursday night in August.

It would have been something of an anti-climax for what will be one of the great celebrations.

If the footy gods are reading this, they will let Johnston pass the milestone in the last round against the Bunnies’ bitter rivals, the Roosters, before a big Allianz Stadium crowd.

I realise a hat-trick of tries is a big ask, particularly against the in-form Chooks, but AJ is likely to have Latrell Mitchell inside him on that left edge so that opens up all sorts of possibilities.

And at the risk of upsetting the suits at NRL HQ, I hope fans are allowed to join in the celebrations, even if it means rushing onto the field.

I acknowledge there are safety concerns, rules are rules, and the welfare of players and spectators is paramount, but surely we can find some sort of middle ground.

If at all feasible, could we not have some sort of controlled situation where the players are roped off before fans are allowed on to join in celebrations?

We’ve seen similar moments in the AFL and overseas soccer leagues, and they make for unforgettable scenes.

I’d hate for Johnston to touch down for try #213 and have the cameras panning to a troop of security guards in high vis manning the fences.

As for the record itself, what can I say.

I only scored 12 tries in my 202 first grade games so dotting down is not my area of expertise.

But to break a record that has stood since 1973 is obviously a bloody big deal and something worth shouting about.

No doubt the changing of the rules to render the corner post as not part of the field of play has worked in Johnston’s favour.

Still, the fact he has found himself at the right place at the right time 210 times is staggering.

Let’s hope he gets this record done on September 5.