<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>341766</docID> <postdate>2025-04-04 08:30:20</postdate> <headline>Stuart heaps praise on ‘future captain’ despite sin bin</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-341767" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Hudson-Young-resized-e1743715753718.jpg" alt="" width="759" height="505" /></p> <caption>Hudson Young celebrates his try in the Raiders' win over Cronulla at Canberra's GIO Stadium. (David Hossack/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Jacob Shteyman</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Hudson Young is a NSW Blues representative, a future Canberra captain and now the first victim of the NRL's high tackle crackdown.</strong></p> <p>The forward had an eventful evening as the Raiders rolled Cronulla 24-20 on Thursday, scoring two tries and playing a key role in Sebastian Kris's thrilling 79th-minute winner.</p> <p>But until the chaotic finish, it seemed as though his performance would be soured by a sin-binning in the 58th minute for a high shot on Sharks captain Cameron McInnes.</p> <p>Young admitted afterwards that he was surprised when referee Todd Smith had called him over for what seemed an innocuous challenge.</p> <p>"I didn't think anything of it when I made the tackle, I don't think McInnes did either," he said.</p> <p>But the punishment came days after the NRL sent a missive to clubs warning that officials were being urged to send more players to the sin bin for high contact.</p> <p>"I think you can tell which ones are forceful and which ones aren't," Young said.</p> <p>"I had no intent in my tackle and Cameron's not the biggest guy, but I've obviously just got to lower my contacts."</p> <p>With Canberra down to 12 men, the Sharks were soon awarded another penalty for a Joe Tapine high shot and Nicho Hynes converted the resulting kick, giving the visitors a two-point advantage they held until the final 90 seconds.</p> <p>Young's high tackle was one of four penalised during the game and the only one that resulted in a sin-binning.</p> <p>Asked if he understood what constituted a sin bin under the new edict, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart had a one-word answer: "Nup".</p> <p>But Stuart found plenty of words of praise for Young, who notched his 45th and 46th tries from 124 NRL matches - a handy return for a second-rower.</p> <p>"It's the best start to a season Hudson's had since I've coached him," Stuart gushed.</p> <p>"And his off-field manner, his leadership is very authentic. He loves rugby league, he loves the Raiders.</p> <p>"He's a guy who could one day take over from Taps (Tapine) as captain if he's around that long. He's wonderful for Taps as a leader."</p> <p>Young, who has played his whole career with Canberra since debuting with them in 2019, welcomed the prospect of captaining the club one day.</p> <p>"It's obviously a goal of mine," he said.</p> <p>"I love the club so much and all the boys here and Canberra as a place.</p> <p>"But Joe's doing a tremendous job and I'm just happy to lead behind him."</p> </body>