Sticky spray: Why Canberra Raiders halfback Jamal Fogarty wants Ricky Stuart to be 'more critical'

But Canberra Raiders halfback Jamal Fogarty is wired a little bit differently.

The Raiders playmaker has challenged his coach - and one of the greatest playmakers the game has seen - to be "more critical of my game" in the hope it can push Canberra up the NRL ladder.

Stuart is both a player's coach and loyal to a fault - which is why he, during a 21-year coaching career, has called critics muppets, lashed rival players and given match officials both barrels.

Now Fogarty hopes a more critical approach can hone the 29-year-old's game management skills when matches go down to the wire - which they may well do against the Sydney Roosters at the Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday night.

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"Stick lets me be me. We have conversations on the side and he'll toss up a couple of ideas, and we'll put our heads together," Fogarty said.

"He doesn't say 'I think you should do this or do that'. He's been really good for myself. I think that's one area of our relationship that could probably get a little bit better, if he just is a little bit more critical of my game. That would benefit the team moving forward.

"[Game management] is one area I really want to improve on. We've seen patches where personally, myself, it has been good. Then other times, games have gotten away from us and as a half, I take that pretty personally.

"That's the biggest area for me to grow in, especially when the game is on the line. When we've been going tit for tat with other teams, we've fallen off and I think that's back to my game management, whether that's the choice of kick or giving the boys direction.

"That's something I really want to take to the next level over the next couple of weeks. That's something I'm going to be working really hard with the coaching staff on."

Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary has been named to face Canberra despite being making an early exit from a win over Newcastle with serious concerns over a jaw injury.

Scans cleared Keary of a fracture in a massive boost for a Roosters outfit set to welcome Victor Radley back from suspension, while James Tedesco will return to the fold following State of Origin duties.

"[Keary] is a massive threat, especially down short sides. Whether it's 10 metres from the sideline or two metres from the sideline, he is looking to take advantage there. For someone that has won so many comps and done everything in the game, he is definitely a threat," Fogarty said.

"Their whole forward pack has got a lot of experience, a couple of Origin players, and Tedesco out the back with Joey Manu. We've definitely got our work cut out, we've just got to work hard together defensively."

Sunday will mark 16 days since Canberra's last outing, a forgettable loss to the New Zealand Warriors in Jarrod Croker's 300^th game.

A bye week allowed players to escape the capital before returning for training on Tuesday, and now Fogarty is confident the Raiders are primed to "go full throttle".

"I think it's the first time in Sticky's 20-year coaching career that he has given the whole squad a week off. I know a lot of the boys went away and freshened up mentally," Fogarty said.

"We went to the snow for a couple of days. It was good to get away, everyone came in feeling fresh and energetic."

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