‘‘This opportunity at Canberra may never have come back up,’’ said Stuart, after accepting a three-year offer to coach the Raiders.

‘‘I know this decision is the best decision for me, being able to go back home and coach Canberra. I’m happy to cop the heat for my family.’’

In an extensive interview, the three-time Raiders premiership player revealed:

♦ He had turned down previous approaches from the Raiders because he didn’t want to jeopardise his friendship with former teammate and then-Raiders coach Dave Furner;

♦ He stood by his controversial decisions at Parramatta, including cutting 12 NRL players and then leaving the club just one year into a three-year deal;

♦ He would seek an urgent meeting with Raiders rookie sensation Anthony Milford, comparing him to Johnathan Thurston and a player the Raiders could build a club around;

♦ He no longer had any issues with Josh Papalii’s decision to back-flip on a three-year deal at Parramatta earlier this year, comparing it to his own switch of allegiance now.

Stuart exercised an out-clause in his contract at Parramatta on Wednesday night, confirming he would leave the wooden spooners to rejoin the Raiders, a club he represented in 203 first grade games as a player.

Stuart said he had turned down several approaches to coach Canberra over the past decade. They began when he was at the Roosters in 2002-06, then last year when Stuart was without an NRL job and David Furner was under pressure to retain the position.

‘‘I’ve always had a private goal to want to coach the Raiders at some stage in my career,’’ Stuart said.

‘‘The other times I’ve been speculated about going back to Canberra they had Dave as a coach. I never wanted to have that on my head that it was because of me that Dave lost his job. I’m mates with Dave, I didn’t want to jeopardise that friendship.

‘‘This is the first time they haven’t had a coach and the opportunity came up.

‘‘I’ve been talking to Dave just a little bit since he finished up just to check on him as a mate.’’

Stuart’s split from Parramatta, after just one season and finishing with the wooden spoon, has angered Eels fans.

But Stuart admitted instability in the Parramatta contract and exercised it due to instability in the Eels board.

He said he had been transparent with Parramatta chairman Steve Sharp, who he respected.

‘‘I’m very comfortable with the decision because I know it’s the right decision for me as a professional coach and for my family.

‘‘I’m disappointed with the timing of it ... I know I’m going to cop some heat, I’ve just got to be a big boy and cop that. I’ve copped it all my career as a player and coach, I’ve got to wear that.

‘‘But at the end of the day when I look my family in the eyes and know they’re happy, I’ll cop as much criticism as I have to.’’

Stuart stood by his ‘‘tough decisions’’ to release as many as 12 players at Parramatta for 2014, claiming they ‘‘had to be made’’.

‘‘I feel as though their roster will improve next year and that was always the plan. There’s been a plan set in place, I started it and it needed doing.’’

While Stuart is yet to examine Canberra’s playing roster in depth, he has identified Milford as a priority.

The Raiders are in negotiations to try and retain the 19-year-old and 2013 player of the year.

Milford has asked for a release on compassionate grounds to rejoin family in Brisbane and Stuart said he planned to meet with him as soon as possible.

‘‘I really hope I get the opportunity soon to sit down with Anthony and have a one-on-one conversation, to understand what his situation is. It’s very important that the club keeps its best players.

‘‘He's a superb young talent. I was very fortunate to coach Jonathan Thurston when he started playing under 20s at the Bulldogs in 2001, Anthony’s jumped into first grade a lot quicker than Jonathan and I see similar traits. He’s the type of player that you can really build a team around, he’s got that x-factor.

‘‘There’s always a lot of pressure on those young boys who have an extra bit of ability at that age, I’m a players coach and I’m looking forward to sitting down with him.’’

Parramatta was outraged earlier this year when Raiders Origin forward Josh Papalii reneged on a three-year deal with the Eels to stay at the Raiders. At one stage Parramatta threatened legal action.

But Stuart compared to the same situation he now faces, leaving Parramatta, and said he looked forward to working with Papalii.

‘‘There’s nothing to clear up, I understood his decision,’’ Stuart said.

‘‘If I wasn’t disappointed from a Parramatta point of view at the time, why was I chasing him. He’s an extremely talented footballer and he’s proven that by being able to play Origin. I get it, I understand why he stayed. ‘‘There’s a lot of these types of scenarios and I find myself in one now.’’

Stuart will come to Canberra on Sunday and wants to start the job as soon as possible.

He is yet to contemplate who will make-up his support staff. It’s understood interim coach Andrew Dunemann was unhappy to be overlooked for the Raiders head coaching role, while the other assistant Brett Kimmorley has rocky history with Stuart after being cut from the NSW Origin team and Cronulla Sharks under Stuart’s coaching.

Stuart said he had no plans to poach players from Parramatta, despite several players understood to have out-clauses in their contracts relating to Stuart’s tenure at the club.

Stuart said he needed time to examine where Canberra needed to bolster its squad.

‘‘This decision has been in the wind for a couple of weeks, but I’ve been working for Parramatta ... I haven’t looked too deep into the structure and roster of Canberra, but I’m excited about being involved and they’re going to get a very enthusiastic Canberra Raiders person as a coach. It’ll be all about the club and wanting to play for that jumper.’’

Stuart has never completed a contract at his previous three NRL clubs. He was sacked by the Roosters, quit at the Sharks and is now leaving Parramatta.

That is contrasted by winning a premiership in his rookie year as Roosters coach in 2002, guiding them to three successive grand finals. He has also coached Australia and NSW.

While his overall winning percentage at NRL level is 50 per cent, it has been less than 29 per cent in his past three seasons.

Stuart said it was too early to predict how far the Raiders could go in 2014.

‘‘There’s no use making rash calls now,’’ he said.

‘‘The critics are out there in regards to my win-loss record over probably my last three years, but nobody talks about the time we were equal-minor premiers in 2008 at the Sharks.

‘‘It’s easy to be critical of coaches and find the negative side of coaching, nobody sees the day to day work.

‘‘The one thing I’m never embarrassed about or fall short in is effort, I give plenty of hours and plenty of heart and soul into every coaching job I’ve had.’’

Stuart’s hard-line stance is said to have been a key attribute in him winning the Raiders coaching job.

The Raiders have endured one of the most turbulent seasons in the club’s history, highlighted by the sackings of star players Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson.

Stuart said he was not concerned about criticism of Canberra’s culture, indicating he would be calling on players to help set their standards.

There’s discipline problems at every club, it’s not just the Raiders. It’s something you can’t fix until people want to buy in. It’s a matter of creating the culture and the players have got to create that.

‘‘I don’t know the finer detail of what happened with Josh and Blake, but there’s enough educated people on the Raiders board and staff to make those decisions. I’m sure the players would have had an opinion and the club would have taken that into account. That’s gone, it’s in the past.’’

Despite being a champion player for the club, Stuart left the Raiders in acrimonious circumstances when he was controversially forced out of the club in 1999 because of salary cap restrictions to finish his playing days at the Bulldogs.

Until last year, he hadn’t entered a Raiders changeroom since.

Stuart said he felt privileged to be back.

‘‘The sentimental value is definitely there, we’ve had a lot of success as a playing group and I always want to go home at some stage and coach Canberra,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s hard to describe the special feeling. I’m privileged, to be elected back there as a coach.

‘‘I think the world of the Raiders, they bought me into the game and they’ve given me everything I’ve got in terms of rugby league because they gave me the first chance in 1988.’’