A victory over the Storm in Melbourne is usually a reason to rejoice but such are the standards Ricky Stuart sets for the Raiders he was anything but pleased following his side's round three victory at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Led superbly by Englishmen George Williams and Josh Hodgson, the Raiders registered their third win over the Storm on the trot with an impressive 22-6 victory to remain unbeaten for the season.
But Stuart knows his team must play an entire 80 minutes if they are to go one step further than last year's runner up finish.
"I was really disappointed with how we played and how we executed in the second half and it is not the standard that we are trying to play to," Stuart said.
"I was very happy with how we started the game... but we didn’t go on with it.
"Fortunately for us they didn’t play well in the second half and we will probably never play against a Melbourne Storm team that plays that poorly in the second half.
"It was the grittiness that we showed in the end that was the telling factor.”
Stuart's mood may have been somewhat downcast due to the fact that the Raiders coach was talking to the media from the team bus following the victory.
Bad fog in Canberra meant the Raiders skipped their usual post-match media conference and were whisked away quickly after the match and to Melbourne airport.
Williams throws the perfect floater to Cotric
"We look like we might be fogged out of Canberra and have to go to Sydney and bus home," Stuart revealed.
"Apparently we won’t know until we get in the air, but knowing our luck with travel we will be going to Sydney.
"It makes it for a tough week if we have to get on a three-hour bus trip after this flight."
Stuart was happy to talk up the efforts of Williams, after the Englishman setup two first half tries and was strong at the defensive end of the field in just his third game in Australia.
"I was very happy with George,” Stuart said.
"The way he took the game was a great example of the player he is and he will only improve on it.
"He is a wonderful footballer."
Storm coach Craig Bellamy didn't mince his words after the loss, with the veteran mentor admitting he was shell-shocked by the efforts of his players.
"I was a little bit embarrassed by that performance to be quite honest," Bellamy said.
Williams breaks the Storm through the middle to set up Nicoll-Klokstad
"We knew we were playing a really good team tonight, but we just didn’t match that."
Bellamy said many of his players had acted selfishly, but he would wait until he reviewed the match before deciding if he needed to make personnel changes for the Storm's round four clash against the Rabbitohs on Friday night.
"I thought we did a lot of things tonight that suited the individual and didn’t suit the team," he said.
"It's the individuals adjusting their mentality to what is right for the team and not is what is right for them."
