On the eve of the NRL season, the Canberra Raiders have had a case of history repeating itself, with the girlfriend of Raiders star Ryan Sutton taking a shot at the club for selecting the English player as 18th man for their first round clash against Cronulla on Friday.
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The Raiders announced a host of shock selections in a new-look team earlier this week, with Ricky Stuart handing club debuts to James Schiller and Adam Elliott.
Sutton was picked as a replacement in the No. 18 jumper, despite having an impressive season where he played 22 games in 2021.
It was reported last week the English player is about to announce a deal with the Bulldogs from next season.
His partner Kate Ford took aim at the club on Instagram and hinted that the decision to drop Sutton was triggered by his future plans.
With a series of laughing-out-loud emojis, Ford re-posted a picture of the club’s Round 1 team with the caption: “& I thought the fashion industry was b—-y”.
The post brought back memories for the Raiders, after the wife of star forward Joe Tapine last year skewered Stuart for the way he utilised his bench after a four-game losing streak.
“You have an international player warming your bench for 50 minutes … Your interchanges are killing us!!! Refs call count means jak (sic) when coaches are (rubbish bin emoji),” Tapine’s wife Kirsten wrote.
According to reports, Stuart met with Tapine and his wife to gauge the extent of their frustrations.
It’s unclear if Stuart will adopt the same tactic this year after selecting Hudson Young, Corey Harawira-Naera and captain Elliott Whitehead ahead of Sutton in the back row, with Emre Guler, Adam Elliott and Corey Horsburgh also beating Suttong for a bench spot.
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