And he's pleased. They've come back ready to put 2019 behind them and do the hard work again.

The Green Machine are looking to go one better than making this year's NRL grand final, but have a shorter pre-season due to their deep campaign.

Stuart said the early signs were good - they weren't resting on their laurels.

They'll break for Christmas and then the full group will resume pre-season on January 6.

"I'm happy with the way everyone's come back after a longer break because of the extent of our long season," Stuart said.

"But the players have come back with an attitude of wanting to do the hard work again. That's where I wanted them to be.

"I was always going to be able to determine the attitude of the players on their arrival back into training and I've been pleased."

This year was their best season since 1994, having gone one step further than the preliminary final they reached in 2016.

The Raiders backed that up with two years out of the NRL finals, where injuries and a raft of narrow losses led to them dropping out of the top eight.

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Stuart felt consistency was king for the Green Machine this year.

"I haven't learnt any lessons from 2017. We were unlucky from certain aspects of our game in '17 and '18," he said.

"There's a lot of luck that you need in this competition.

"We worked very hard this year - not to say we didn't work hard in those years, it's just we played consistently well.

"Consistency in our game was probably the biggest factor of our season '19."

With Aidan Sezer (Huddersfield) and Jordan Rapana (Panasonic Wild Knights) both leaving, they've brought in George Williams and Curtis Scott as cover.

Matt Frawley has bolstered their playmaking stocks as well.

While Williams won't arrive until the New Year, Stuart said the new additions had fitted in well.

But he didn't want to be drawn on how Scott would fit into the 2020 Raiders - all he's worried about is getting his players fit.

Scott can play both right and left centre - putting pressure on co-captain Jarrod Croker and Joey Leilua.

"We've got a few new recruits - probably more younger players than senior," Stuart said.

"Matt Frawley and Curtis Scott have joined the squad over the last week. To their credit they've really fitted in well.

"Matt's an ex-Raider and moved on when there wasn't a lot of opportunity for him and he's come back as an experienced NRL player who's also experienced Super League football.

"He'll be very beneficial for the depth of our squad. I was excited getting him back.

"And Curtis Scott is a wonderful addition to build on the quality of our squad."

Stuart said his meeting with Jack Wighton's manager Matt Rose on Sunday went well, with both parties working towards adding to the 26-year-old's eight seasons in Canberra.

Wighton's off contract at the end of 2020 and is free to talk to other clubs.

But he wants to remain where he made his NRL debut for.

"We had a really good chat with Jack's manager on Sunday morning," Stuart said.

"We had breakfast with Matt Rose. Both parties are very focussed on making sure Jack's welfare and family are looked after.

"That's a big part of negotiating a contract. You've got to be happy and make sure the environment and both parties are content."