4 hours ago
1
James Tedesco has orchestrated a second-half comeback to lift the Roosters to a 38-24 victory against Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
Despite a clunky first half from the Tricolours – where Fletcher Hunt scored a hat-trick as Newcastle punched their way through the middle of the Roosters’ defence – Tedesco played a near-perfect second half to make a convincing argument for an Origin recall in a week when Laurie Daley’s Blues have been decimated by injuries.
Although incumbent Blues fullback Dylan Edwards remains fit, Tedesco’s performance proved why he wouldn’t look out of place in the NSW No.1 jersey he’d held for so many years before it was given to Edwards in 2024.
Tedesco ran for 270 metres, had three line-breaks, three try assists and 19 tackle breaks.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson wouldn’t be drawn on whether Tedesco should win his Origin spot back, but said his skipper was incredible on Sunday.
“If there’s a play that has to be played, he [Tedesco] is always there,” Robinson said.
“I said to the team, it’s not sometimes, it’s not most of the time, it’s always. His ability to play a multidimensional game for a fullback is just, we just needed it tonight, and he was going to boss his way in into us winning the game, and he did.”
With the game in the balance after the break, it was Roosters’ No.1 who put a grubber in for Hugo Savala to score his second try of the afternoon and draw equal with Newcastle on the scoreboard, before he stormed across for a try of his own.
The points flowed for the Tricolours from there, with Mark Nawaqanitawase also getting a double to push the scoreline even further out by full-time.
It wasn’t perfect performance from the Tricolours – who trailed 24-12 at half-time – but Tedesco was all class in the final 40 minutes of the match and the Roosters move back inside the top eight with their fourth win of the season.
On the other side of the field, it was another second-half capitulation for Justin Holbrook’s Knights.
With Dylan Brown returning from injury, and Sandon Smith facing his former club for the first time, Newcastle had the chance to spring an upset at Allianz Stadium – especially after Hunt scored a first-half hat-trick.
Hunt had also made two try-saving tackles in the first half to cap off an impressive 40 minutes of football and keep his team ahead at the break.
“He did a great job, Hunty is so adaptable wherever we put him, and he was terrific there at centre for us,” coach Justin Holbrook said after the match.
“He saved some tries in the first half, and that was the difference. We didn’t save any in the second half, and we didn’t look like scoring ourselves.”
Newcastle were doing the simple things right, completing their sets and punching through the middle of the Roosters defence, while it was the Tricolours who were struggling to fire in attack as they tried to go around, rather than through, Newcastle.
But a quick start to the second half for the Tricolours was compounded by errors from the Knights, who failed to score a point in the second half.
