Tamale dropped two high balls in the first half and fumbled an easy pass in the second half in what looked to be a major case of the yips.
The 21-year-old did at least enjoy one major highlight - swooping on a Rabbitohs fumble in the 28th minute to launch a 50m sprint to the line.
But even that almost ended in disaster, with Tamale inexplicably stopping abruptly one metre short of the line instead of diving over.
It allowed South Sydney five-eighth Cody Walker to come in and lay a heavy tackle - with Tamale just able to do enough to touch the ball down.
Stuart had an extended chat with Tamale after that moment, revealing he told the young flyer to "believe in his ability".
"He's a brilliant football player, Sav, a wonderful winger," Stuart said.
"He's just down on confidence at the moment. And he's one of those young blokes I'm talking about - he hasn't felt this.
"He's at the start of his career. He really only had one season in NRL, and that was last year.
"He had a breakout season, got injured, come back, and now a couple of things have gone against him over the last couple of games, and he's just lacking confidence.
"We've all spoken about it as a group to get around him, and that's when the care for your players comes in."
The Raiders were minor premiers last season, but after starting this year with a golden-point victory over Manly, entered Saturday's match on a debilitating four-match losing streak.
Stuart felt a lot of his young players were lacking confidence as the losses started to pile up.
"They've never been in that position before, which is why I try to create less pressure," Stuart said.
"We haven't changed anything in regards to our training. We've been very solid in regards to our preparation.
"It's not the not the way we wanted to start. But the one thing I know, though, they'll just keep fighting for the jumper, and for one another."
The Rabbitohs slipped to a 3-2 record after their epic fightback against Canberra fell just short.
Adding salt to the wound, fullback Jye Gray is set for a stint on the sidelines after injuring his left shoulder early in the match.
"It's an AC joint, so it's pretty sore," Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett said.
"I've got to assume it's going to be two or three weeks at least."
Cody Walker's two tries marked the 15th double of his career, and also broke a 13-game try drought.
"It should give him some confidence, I've got no doubt," Bennett said.
