Ricky Stuart has been an NRL coach for nearly 500 games since making his debut at the Sydney Roosters in 2002.

He has also coached at the representative level having been at the helm of the New South Wales State of Origin side and the Australian Kangaroos.

Stuart is one of the NRL’s most experienced coaches but has found himself in hot water over comments he publicly made about opposition player Jaeman Salman after his Canberra Raiders lost 26-6 against the Penrith Panthers.

“I’ve had history with that kid (Salmon), I know that kid very well,” said Stuart during the post-match press conference.

“He was a weak-gutted dog as a kid, and he hasn’t changed now, he’s a weak-gutted dog person now.”

Many people have been shocked by Stuart’s comments including Salmon’s family who put out an official statement regarding the matter yesterday.

“We were surprised by Ricky’s claim that he knows Jaeman personally as they have had no contact since Jae was 12-years old,” the statement read.

“We are calling on the NRL to take action as we believe Jaeman has been wronged in this situation.”

The NRL has interviewed Canberra coach Ricky Stuart over his controversial comments about Panthers five-eighth Jaeman Salmon – update via @BulldogRitchie: https://t.co/VAyMCf2Ast

— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) August 8, 2022

It seems the NRL will be taking action as the integrity unit has launched an investigation into the matter with The Daily Telegraph reporting that Stuart could face a suspension.

“The NRL is taking the matter seriously with Stuart possibly confronting a two-game suspension,” the article stated.

“He could also be banned from attending post-game media conferences for the rest of this season.”

Stuart is no stranger to speaking his mind and causing post-game controversy having received many fines over the years for speaking out over a variety of matters.

It seems the NRL has reached their breaking point with Stuart and are now considering this unprecedented punishment for the 55-year-old.

Canberra is currently trying to keep their top eight hopes alive and this could completely derail their season.

The Raiders will face the St George Illawarra Dragons and Newcastle Knights in the next two rounds.

Both games are very winnable but Canberra could suffer without their veteran coach there for those games.