“We weren’t planning on doing it, but we ended up getting a quick play-the-ball and I just took it – I didn’t really think about it.”
Stuart paid tribute to Sanders’ long-term approach to his career before kick-off, saying: “A lot of young players today are too much in a rush to play first grade … I think he’s quite courageous in regards to taking that apprenticeship on last year, to build longevity in his career.”
Ethan Sanders celebrates his first NRL try with Joe Tapine.Credit: Getty Images
After Canberra’s thrilling 29-28 win, he was just as complimentary about both halfbacks, noting Fogarty’s bright moments in his first game for Manly opposite Sanders.
“And Ethan Sanders, I thought his game tonight was very, very mature, well beyond the amount of games he’s played,” Stuart said. “I think that was probably the fifth or sixth game in first grade. He had more pressure on him tonight than any player on the field.”
Loading
Given he has been tipped for the top level since impressing as a teenager, Sanders’ slow-and-steady rise in the past three years has been a talking point, seemingly for everyone but him.
“I wouldn’t say I was desperate [to play NRL], I was just learning,” Sanders said of his first year in Canberra.
“There’s a bunch of great leaders in this side; it was just good to sort of pick their brains and be around them 24/7 … To be able to get the halfback role in round one is yet another tick on the goal list.”
- For more: Elrisala website and for social networking, you can follow us on Facebook
- Source of information and images “brisbanetimes”“
