NSW State of Origin captain James Tedesco hit top form on the eve of the 2020 series as he helped the Sydney Roosters withstand a fightback from Cronulla in a 36-16 NRL win.
In what was one of his and the Roosters’ more impressive attacking performances of the year, Tedesco led the charge as Cronulla’s five-game winning streak at PointsBet Stadium came to an end.
Craig Fitzgibbon’s side have turned their home ground into a fortress this year, but they barely fired a shot until the second half against a Roosters side which has endured an uncharacteristically erratic run of form (7-5).
Tedesco was at the heart of everything that went right for the Roosters and his performance will hearten Blues coach Brad Fittler who is already without Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell.
The fullback’s jinking runs helped get the Roosters out of the backfield and he was in the right place every time as back-up or support.
In all, Tedesco finished the match with 205 running metres, seven tackle-busts, two try-assists and a try of his own.
It helped the Roosters that the Sharks were way below par and in a worrying sign for Fitzgibbon, his side didn’t score until the 56th minute when Ronaldo Mulitalo crossed.
Fitzgibbon was coaching against Trent Robinson for the first time since he left the Roosters after serving as his assistant coach for almost a decade but on Saturday the master won out over the apprentice.
Daniel Tupou put Robinson’s side ahead with a double in the opening 20 minutes before a searing break from halfback Luke Keary.
Tedesco was backing up in support and flicked the ball out the back of his hand to send back-rower Nat Butcher over in the corner.
Tupou turned provider when he set up Tedesco on the inside, with the fullback calmly finishing to give the Roosters a 20-0 lead at halftime.
Veteran prop Jared Warea-Hargreaves pushed the Roosters further ahead when he crashed over after another incisive Tedesco break.
Wingers Mulitalo and Sione Katoa each jagged one back for the Sharks and when Cameron McInnes crossed to cut the Roosters’ lead to 24-16 with 10 minutes to go, there was hope from the home fans that they could complete the comeback.
Roosters centre Joey Manu put paid to that when he wrapped up victory with a late runaway try before Connor Watson burrowed over to hammer home their advantage.
EastOfDivide
Guest
I know that you must be a Roosters supporter. So you’re not used to lots of calls going against your team. Welcome to the real world! :laughing:
Justin
Guest
Graham is old now & didn’t play the start of the season either. They still had the whole spine there . So what you’re saying, is take out a couple of forwards & one back & they’ve got nothing much? The Newtown NSW Cup team has been going fairly well. So the replacements from there aren’t worth anything much? It’s virtually the full strength backline. If the forwards do their job. Most of those games are winnable. Time to take the second rower Talakai out of centre too. Good for some fun. Now that teams are getting used to the idea. He’s hardly scored or set up any tries lately.
Bernie
Guest
Nice effort to get Sharks back into game with every 50-50 knock on call going Sharks way - BTW the ball doesnt have to go back for it NOT to be a knock on - straight down is not forward!!! Even the bunker read the script...but unfortunately the ref wont get SOO
SharkMan
Guest
That's because they're not, last night they had Funicane, Graham, Ramien, Uele, and Williams all missing, they'll be right once they get some players back
Justin
Guest
They don’t look like the same team as at the start of the year. Some wheels on the Sharks bus , are a bit wobbly right now.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Panther supporter here...Sharks contributors need to do better. Poor form on and off the field. I agree, Roosters can improve, but is up to Tedesco to change his attitude to sharing possession. Almost never, does that kind of player makes it from junior footy through to the NRL. Mostly because that is like changing spots on a leopard. Sharks, for me, are showing that Hynes, although can appear to lead through his good play, is not a General who marshals troops when they are down. His voice, his message, his body language was as vacant as the fans around here. Is noted that they are yet to come back to win from anything further than 6 points down.
Watda
Guest
Rooster supporter here…we have to be better