Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Ricky Stuart told Jamal Fogarty he’d be an idiot not to accept Manly’s contract offer, much to the relief of the halfback, who had spent a sleepless night agonising over telling his coach he’d be leaving Canberra.
From the outside looking in, Fogarty’s exit from the Raiders had appeared highly likely for weeks.
That was particularly the case after Stuart publicly admitted Canberra could not match Manly’s offer of a three-year, $2.1 million deal to replace the outgoing Daly Cherry-Evans from 2026.
But for Fogarty, the call to leave the club where he’s played his best football was never easy.
“It was a really hard decision, to be honest,” the 31-year-old said.
“It was something that I was tossing and turning (about). In the end, I was an idiot if I didn’t accept it.”
It was similarly difficult for Fogarty to walk into Stuart’s office last Tuesday and tell the famously passionate Raiders man he’d be leaving after four years.
“Monday night, I didn’t really get to sleep, I was in bed and I just kept waking up, going to the toilet, thinking about it,” Fogarty said.
“Obviously he could take it well or he could take it the other way. I was not too sure what was going to happen.
“(But) he was very accepting of it. Our relationship hasn’t changed from then and he gave me his backing, (saying) ‘You’re an idiot if you don’t take it’, which was good.”
For now, Fogarty’s focus remains 300km south of Manly’s northern beaches stronghold and with a Canberra side that has well-founded premiership aspirations for 2025.
Sunday’s 20-18 defeat of perennial contenders Melbourne was the latest proof of the Raiders’ heavyweight status this season, and it was Fogarty who slotted the game-winning penalty goal in extra time.
“I had a bit of shaky legs there … (scoring) was more of a relief if anything,” he said.
Far from making him regret his decision to leave, wins like Sunday’s have made Fogarty more engaged than ever with Canberra’s campaign.
“I’m not even thinking about it (leaving) to be honest,” he said.
“We’ve got 20-odd games here at the Raiders and I think we’re building something special.”
After beating both the Storm and Warriors in the opening nine rounds, the second-placed Raiders now host the only top-four side they have not met in 2025, ladder-leading Canterbury.
The top end of the ladder has been foreign territory for the two sides in recent years. The Raiders haven’t finished a season in the top two since 2016, and the Bulldogs’ finals berth last year was their first in eight years.
Fogarty admitted that in the pre-season he would’ve considered Saturday’s clash an unlikely top-two match-up.
“I probably would’ve thought you were kidding yourself to be honest, and I think everyone probably will agree with that comment,” Fogarty said.
“But in saying that, the pre-season that we had, we know the squad that we’ve got.
“The Dogs are probably the best team in the comp at the minute, they’re not letting many tries in, they’re scoring a lot.
“It’s going to be a pretty good game.”
