Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has gotten behind the NRL's recent decision to allow new recruit Curtis Scott to feature in round one while he still fights charges of assault.

Scott, who arrived in Canberra on a four-year deal from Melbourne in the off-season was arrested on Australia Day long weekend and charged with assaulting a police officer

After investigating the incident, the NRL has allowed him to play next weekend, determining his charges do not fall under the no-fault stand-down policy.

Whilst many have accused the NRL of double standards, Stuart says the club have supported Scott's defence of his innocence all the way.

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“Football players don’t support mugs,” Stuart told The Big Sports Breakfast.

“Football players don’t get around a player who is a dickhead and all these blokes have got around Curtis Scott.

“They’ve really supported him through this tough time. That’s a big plus for me because he’s got talent. He's just got to mould into the way we want to play now.

“The other day in our trial match there was a couple of errors because he tried too hard. But he’s an aggressive tough kid, who really fit the style and the Raiders culture here.”

Scott was just one of a host of roster changes Stuart and the Raiders made in the off-season.

The club lost dangerous duo BJ Leilua and Jordan Rapana to the Wests Tigers and Japanese rugby respectively, whilst grand final halfback Aiden Sezer departed for the Huddersfield Giants.

The Raiders have also brought in England international George Williams to add to the club's already strong English cohort.

“I don't think we've lost talent, but we have lost cohesion and combinations,” Stuart added.

“He is a similar style of player to yourself where he loves running the football and taking the line on, he's got a wonderful kicking game.

"He is a typical Pommy that we have here. He gets in and hooks into training. He works hard. He’s a good lad off the field.

Not considered a premiership threat before the 2019 season, the Raiders made the first grand final for the first time since 1994, coming within inches of upsetting eventual premiers the Roosters.

Despite their heroics last season, Stuart is under no illusions the Green Machine will need to be even better in 2020.

“I’m very fortunate that this is the closest group of players I have ever coached,” Stuart said.

"We're like any football team you think positively, you're optimistic but we're not blinded by the hard work that needs to be done.

"I'm proud of how the players handled the last two months of football leading into that game [grand final]. I believe we got a lot of experience out of that but also luck plays a massive role.

"Over that two months period, I had 22 of my best players available to be picked. I didn't have real injury concerns, any Josh Papalii's out or Jack Wighton out.

"There's no higher expectation on this football team than what I put on them and what I put on myself, and what we put on ourselves as a group."

Canberra's campaign commences with a home game against last year's wooden spooners the Titans on March 13.