In the 2019 NRL season, Stuart guided Canberra to a 4th-place finish at the end of the 2019 regular season. Canberra would then go on to defeat Melbourne and South Sydney to qualify for their first grand final in 25 years. In the 2019 NRL Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters, Canberra lost the match 14-8 in controversial circumstances. During the second half of the game and with only 10 minutes remaining, Canberra were initially given a new six tackle set after referee Ben Cummins had ruled that the Sydney Roosters had touched the ball. Canberra player Jack Wighton would then be tackled with the ball. Cummins later ruled that it was not a repeat set and it was a handover to the Sydney Roosters. In the following minutes, Roosters player James Tedesco would score the match winning try.