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He may be about to start his second trial match at fullback but Wests Tigers young gun James Tedesco is unlikely to retain the No.1 jersey for the start of the NRL season, according to coach Tim Sheens.
The 19-year-old will face Sydney Roosters at Campbelltown on Saturday but Sheens admits he’s likely to open the new campaign against Cronulla with a more experienced head at fullback.
Tedesco enjoyed a solid first grade debut in the Tigers’ trial win over Parramatta last week and will be given another chance to impress against the Roosters.
However, Sheens said he is pondering picking new recruits Joel Reddy, Tom Humble or the seasoned Mitch Brown against the Sharks at Leichhardt.
“If I’ve got any indecision it’s who will start the season at fullback,” Sheens said.
“I’ll be surprised if I start young Tedesco first game.
“If he was a young prize fighter you wouldn’t want to throw him into the deep end so we just have to be careful with him but I am impressed with him.”
Tedesco was the star of the Tigers under-20s side last year after coming out of the SG Ball under-18s competition midway through the season.
But the veteran coach is wary over overloading him with the burden of expectation at such an early stage of his career.
“He’s a good kid,” Sheens said.
“I’m sure this week will test him, it will be a step up in class.
“It’s just start of the learning process for him.
“Every decision he makes, every catch he has to take, every tackle he has to make is pretty critical.
“I don’t necessarily want to throw that on him at this point as I have some experienced options.”
Humble and Reddy, who moved to the Tigers from the Eels, will start on the bench against the Roosters, with Brown still making his way back from a hamstring injury.
The match will also see skipper Robbie Farah return to action after missing last week’s game with a sore groin.
However, Lote Tuqiri is out due to a thumb injury.
Tigers: James Tedesco, Beau Ryan, Blake Ayshford, Chris Lawrence, Matt Utai, Benji Marshall, Tim Moltzen, Aaron Woods, Robbie Farah, Keith Galloway, Adam Blair , Gareth Ellis, Chris Heighington. Interchange: Liam Fulton, Matt Groat, Matt Bell, Tom Humble, Joel Reddy.
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