James Tedesco has provided Michael Maguire with a handy reminder of his Origin credentials with a superb showing as the Roosters blew out the Raiders 44-16 in Canberra.
The fullback grabbed a trademark try on the left edge, bouncing off several defenders to score just after the resumption to put the game beyond doubt as well as returning to creative form with multiple line break assists.
He even got to put the tin hat on the game, backing up in the 79th minute to finish a break.
Dylan Edwards might be breathing down his neck, but there is life in the old stager yet. Rugby league is often about timing and Teddy could not have picked a better moment to underline his resurgence in 2024.
“It’s not about making statements,” said Tedesco.
“It’s about playing footy and doing my best for us to win the game, so that’s important to me, especially as the captain, getting the two points and playing some good footy. That’s all I can really do.”
He wasn’t the only one to grab Michael Maguire’s attention.
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Spencer Leniu, who has been on the fringes of the squad but set back by his long ban for racial abuse to start the year, was excellent off the bench and proved far too strong for the Raiders’ middle to handle, averaging over 10m per run with ball in hand.
Joseph Suaalii also had strong moments too and laid on the try for Tedesco with a silky offload before having the favour returned on the hour mark.
Angus Crichton was more subdued than he has been of late, but still scored late on thanks to more strong work from Tedesco.
“You want as many guys in Origin as possible,” said Trent Robinson.
“It hurts next week’s game but you get really excited for them, you love watching your guys play.”
From the moment Victor Radley – who might have been an outside shout had he not chosen to play for England – crossed on his first carry, this always looked like being an uphill struggle for Canberra.
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They were smashed through the middle and cut apart on the edges, with Tedesco on the left and Joey Manu, who scored twice, unstoppable on the right.
The only downer was an injury to Egan Butcher. Initial fears were that the backrower had torn his ACL, but on-field checks were inconclusive and, though he played on briefly, he was later withdrawn and will go for scans.
Sam Walker was also in strife with his knee in the first half but completed the game without further complication.
Ricky Stuart might complain about the Bunker decision to award Luke Keary a penalty try, with Morgan Smithies adjudged to have pulled the five eighth back despite him reaching the ball and knocking it on.
It was far from clear cut, but neither was the bat back from Elliott Whitehead to Nick Cotric moments later, not the clear knock on that was missed two plays prior.
“I just think tonight we weren’t on,” said Whitehead.
“We didn’t turn up with that mindset that we have to go after them, you know, they get off to a good start and you know we lost the momentum at times.
“I felt sorry for the fans that turned up, we got a big crowd there and you know, an embarrassing performance from us, like what we dish dished out tonight wasn’t us at all.
“We showed the last two weeks what we are capable of doing and to put in a performance like that, I thought we had a good week of training too, and to put in a performance like that is not the type that we want here.”
Canberra were soundly beaten but most sides would have struggled with a Roosters side in this kind of mood.
After suffering defeat to the Sharks last weekend, Easts bounced back with a vengeance and were far too strong for the Raiders.
Some of their sets, particularly those featuring Dom Young to start and both Leniu and Terrell May, were devastating displays of the running power that this team has available to it.
Robinson adjusted his pack to counter the strength of Canberra’s middles, moving Radley to the edge and bringing Naufahu Whyte in as a bigger body at lock.
He was rewarded with a level of go-forward that the Raiders could not get close to matching.
Whitehead was locked in a running battle with referee Todd Smith over a penalty count that blew out against his side and may well have been lucky to stay on the field given the nature of his protestations.
The set restart breakdown was heavily weighted against Canberra through the first hour, but a significant portion of that was due to their inability to deal with Leniu, May and Whyte down the centre of the field.
They were manful in their attempts but were clearly outgunned and, as the scoreboard pressure mounted, errors crept in and compounded what was already a tough afternoon for the Raiders.
Their Origin hopeful, Hudson Young, did score a typically committed try from a kick but it was slim pickings otherwise for the backrower.
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