England forwards Josh Hodgson and Elliot Whitehead have credited Canberra coach Ricky Stuart with elevating their careers to new heights since joining the Raiders.The pair will line up against Australia on Sunday (Monday 0100, AEDT) in a game the home side have to win to have any chance of booking a place in the final at Anfield on November 20.Hodgson enjoyed a stellar second season in the nations capital last year, helping the Raiders to the finals and earning the praise of Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga who declared he and Cameron Smith were the two best hookers in the game.Ricky has been massive for me, said Hodgson.One thing he is very big on is family and making sure that youre good outside of rugby league.Hes a funny bloke and he gets a bad rap in the press for being a cranky bloke but he only gets cranky if you do anything wrong for him - so hes alright with me!Hes been really good for me and brought me on as a senior player in the team and given me a lot of responsibility and thats added to my game massively.Ive got a lot of time for Ricky and will sing his praises whenever I can.Like Hodgson, Whitehead has blossomed since joining Canberra from Super League side Catalans, who he signed for after being shown the door by hometown club Bradford in 2013.He played a significant role in the Raiders best season in over 20 years, appearing in every single minute, bar two, across 27 matches and believes that experience in the NRL will be crucial on Sunday.Me and Josh were talking about that the other day, Whitehead said.We need to complete our sets otherwise you will get no field position and that is something we know from playing in the NRL.Ricky has been great for me, hes done everything he can for me and my girlfriend to help us settle and is only ever a phone call away if we need anything.He wants to make it like a family down there and theres a great set of lads and they are buying into what he is doing.Whitehead also agrees with Meningas comments about Hodgson and even joked the hooker will have his own bronze statue outside GIO Stadium alongside the Kangaroos coach.Hes been brilliant week in, week out, he said.Hes shown in the best competition in the world what he can do.Hes the most professional player Ive played with. 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In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. CALGARY, Alberta -- Following their longest road trip of the season, the Calgary Flames start a three-game homestand Wednesday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs.Although they lost 2-1 in overtime to the New York Islanders on Monday, the Flames (10-13-2) finished their six-game road trip a respectable 3-2-1.Those three wins are as many as the Flames have recorded at the Scotiabank Saddledome -- they have a league-worst 3-7 record on home ice -- which is something that Calgary captain Mark Giordano said has to improve.Weve got to get some big wins at home, said Giordano, whose team also hosts the Minnesota Wild on Friday and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. We havent been good enough at home.The Flames get several chances to improve their home record over the coming weeks as they play six of their next eight and seven of their next 11 games in Calgary.We have to be positive coming back home here, said goaltender Brian Elliott, who made 25 saves to help the Flames salvage a point against the Islanders.Sean Monahan also has some positives to build upon as he snapped out of a five-game goalless drought in New York by scoring his sixth goal of the season in the third period.Its nice to put one in there, but at the end of the day were here for the two points and we got one out of it, Monahan said. Were got to find a way to get the job done. Unfortunately we didnt, but weve got to bounce back here at home.Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan was happy to see Monahan finally find the back of the net and hes hoping the 22-year-old center can build off of it.dddddddddddd think thatll be a little bit of a weight off his shoulders, Gulutzan said. You know how goal scorers are. They can be streaky and I think that was a big goal for him.While the Flames have to improve at home, the same can be said for what the Maple Leafs need to accomplish on the road.After a 4-2 victory over the Oilers in Edmonton on Tuesday night, the Leafs (10-8-4) have a 2-5-4 road record.It probably wasnt our prettiest win, but were very happy to kick this road trip off with two points, defenseman Morgan Rielly told reporters following the win, which snapped Torontos three-game losing streak away from the friendly confines of the Air Canada Centre, where they boast an impressive 8-3-0 mark.Despite his squads sub-.500 record on the road, Rielly was eagerly anticipating Torontos trip out west to play the Oilers, Flames and Vancouver Canucks, who theyll face Saturday at Rogers Arena.I just really look forward to it, Rielly told the Toronto Star. When the league releases our schedule, thats the first thing I look for -- when we go out west. Its home. I spent a fair bit of time on the Prairies.Rielly hails from Vancouver and played three seasons for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League before turning pro in 2013.I like going on the road in general, Rielly said. We have a chance to play some huge games on the road, try to get some points and improve our road record. ' ' '