James Tedesco and Kalyn Ponga face off in battle of the fullbacks

Kalyn Ponga’s elusiveness over the last month has left his opposition clutching at thin air but a Roosters great believes James Tedesco’s defence will be up to the task.

• Johns: Origin reward if Pearce can cook Chooks
• Redfern injury crisis has Bunnies in a hole

Sydney Roosters great and fullback Anthony Minichiello was renowned for his defensive pedigree but he doesn’t expect James Tedesco to be asking for any tips on how to stop Newcastle’s Kalyn Ponga.

Ponga’s elusiveness over the last month has left his opposition clutching at thin air but Minichiello believes Tedesco’s defence will be up to the task.

“Teddy has been on fire and Ponga isn’t far behind. It’s a mouth-watering match-up,” he said.

“But Teddy is becoming the complete package. I worked with him last year to help him learn our defensive structures but he has his defensive organisation down pat.

“He’s always finetuning it now, he doesn’t need my help anymore.

“There’s nothing for me to do anymore.”

Tedesco has proven himself the top fullback in the game. Image: Phil Hillyard

The two-time premiership winner told The Daily Telegraph Tedesco’s defensive smarts might come as a surprise to others but coach Trent Robinson never doubted his ability.

“People were criticising him, saying he is taking his time to warm into his role last year,” Minichiello said.

“But we knew the asset he could be in defence almost immediately … most people look at his attacking ability before anything but we also saw his potential in defence.

“By the end of 2018 his defensive organisation was outstanding and we finished with the best defence in the league, that was down to Teddy’s work.”

There will also be more than two competition points at stake when the gun No.1s square-up.

Ponga has excelled, as expected, for Newcastle this season. Image: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Minichiello believes the winner will be bolstered by an invaluable mental edge when the two superstars go head to head again in less than two weeks, this time in the cauldron of Origin.

“Hands down Teddy will be the first one picked for NSW and Ponga the first picked for Queensland,” he said.

“When I came up against an opposite number I always wanted to try and get the wood over him, I always wanted to walk off the field knowing I played better than him. Both of these guys will be no different, they’ll want to outperform each other.”

LISTEN! Mitchell Pearce has the Knights firing and Matty Johns also pays tribute to Bob Hawke and Quentin Pongia. As always he is joined by Kenty and Finchy for rugby league’s best podcast.

And while Minichiello doesn’t have any words of wisdom for Tedesco, he does have some advice for Ponga after Newcastle’s failed halves experiment earlier this year.

Knights coach Nathan Brown shifted Ponga into the No. 6 jumper in the opening three rounds of the season but Minichiello believes Ponga should put his five-eighth ambitions to bed, permanently.

“He’s a career fullback through and through, I have no doubt about that. He’s a natural ball runner, the way he gets the ball in the backline and his pass selection to the outside backs is very impressive. His options and decisions are always spot on.”

Tedesco finished last season on personal highs as a premiership winner and was awarded the Brad Fittler medal as the player of the series for NSW.

Minichiello said the 26-year-old is on track to adding to last year’s accolades with the ultimate individual prize — the 2019 Dally M award.

“If you remember he came back from Origin in 2018 and was somehow found even better for at club level. If that happens this year, which hopefully it does, he’ll be right up there in contention,” he said.