NRL 2025: Peter Sterling officially makes Parramatta Eels return, James Tedesco tips young gun for breakout season | Saint, Sinner, Shoosh
With the Roosters in need of centres after the departures of Joey Manu and Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii, James Tedesco has picked a surprise contender to step up and have a breakout 2025. All that and more in Saint, Sinner, Shoosh.
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Sydney Roosters captain James Tedesco was asked this week to nominate a player to emerge in 2025. The first name that came to mind was young centre Robert Toia.
Toia was one of the best teens in the game before being struck down by knee injuries.
“I was thinking of Rob straight away,” Tedesco said. “He came off another ACL last year and trained against us at the back end of the year. He was pretty hard to tackle and pretty dominant against some of our centres, who aren’t too shabby either.
“Guys like Rob Toia and Billy Smith – he’s coming off a lot of injuries as well. Those two are very talented. Salesi (Foketi), he’s another young backrower coming through.”
Tedesco conceded the key for 20-year-old Toia and Smith was to stay healthy.
“They’ve got all the attributes. It’s just about keeping them healthy. The first part of that is having a really good pre-season, getting them comfortable with the grind and then hopefully having a really good season.”
STERLO MAKES EELS RETURN
Peter Sterling insists it isn’t a comeback. He has been in and around Parramatta since his retirement, attended the odd game and never stopped supporting the club.
However, it always felt like there was a barrier there, something stopping him taking on an official role with his beloved Eels.
Not any more though. The greatest player in Parramatta history has accepted an offer to take up a role as an ambassador of the Eels foundation, an organisation set up to help members, fans and partners invest in the long-term future of the club.
Parramatta announced the landmark occasion on Saturday afternoon with Sterling donning an Eels polo shirt and spruiking the club’s future.
If the video that accompanied the announcement was any indication, Sterling certainly seems ready to become more involved, although Parramatta will need to share him with travel plans and the golf course.
“I am there supporting the club in this venture because I think it is something that is going to be good for everybody involved,” Sterling told Sunday Sesh.
“I have never gone anywhere. They don’t need me poking my head in too many places. I pick and choose my involvement with them and they are very happy with that.”
Eels chief executive Jim Sarantinos added: “I think it is symbolic of the fact he is still so heavily invested in the club and wants to see it succeed.
“It is nice to have him involved.
“He is a legend of the club, he is respected and admired by everyone.”
In recent weeks, Sterling has caught up with new coach Jason Ryles and spoken to some of the club’s players. He likes what Ryles has done in his short time in charge and has offered to be there if the rookie coach needs a chat.
There are few better sounding boards in the game. Sterling was a genius as a player and brilliant during a long career with the Nine Network.
Those commentary duties perhaps explained why he kept his distance to an extent, allowing him to remain impartial despite never losing his love for the Eels.
He is now back – he insists he was never away – in an official capacity with the club for the first time anyone can remember.
“Couple of positive things in the last couple of weeks. It was very nice to have a meeting with Jason and find out what his plans are for the future and how he plans to get there.
“The main thing I want Jason to know – and he knows that after meeting the other day – is that I am 100 per cent behind him and if there is any reason he wants a chat I am only a phone call away.
“There is a real sense of optimism around the club with Rylesy coming in.”
SAINT
Sydney Roosters, NSW Blues and Australian forward Angus Crichton showed once again why he is one of the rugby league’s good guys after sending a Blues jersey to a young fan this week. Josh suffers from a rare form of childhood dementia and returned from a week in hospital to find a sky blue jersey waiting for him.
SINNER
The rugby union types talking up the potential for more NRL players to make the switch to rugby. Puh-lease. Rugby Australia is swimming in debt while league’s coffers are overflowing, with the game soon to announce record revenue and another mega-profit.
SHOOSH
Which Sydney club quietly asked the question of former Tigers and Bulldogs utility Moses Mbye — now playing at St Helens — about a potential return to the NRL next season.
SHOOSH I
Which top-ranking club official will be lucky to be in the same role at his team when the season starts?
SHOOSH II
Which agent struggled to use Docusign, thus delaying a crucial announcement until he could work it out?
SHOOSH III
A new league couple is turning heads. The first grader’s new girlfriend once dated one of the game’s highest profile players.
SHOOSH IV
Which current NRL club boss was sounded out by St George Illawarra about taking on the Dragons’ top job?
SPOTTED
Former South Sydney star Sam Burgess, his wife and child eating ice cream at Cronulla. Life is pretty good for big Sam at the moment as he enjoys some down time back in Australia after a big season at the helm of Super League side Warrington.
SPOTTED I
A phalanx of current and ex-sporting stars watching Coldplay at Accor Stadium this week. Cricketers Moses Henriques, Mark Taylor and David Warner were there — the latter with two of his daughters. As was former Socceroos coach Graham Arnold, Roosters forward Egan Butcher, Parramatta legend Peter Sterling and ex-Eels prop Michael Vella, who also took his kids.
SPOTTED II
Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika at Bondi Icebergs with Sydney Roosters board member Mark Bouris. The pair bumped into Roosters chair Nick Politis while catching up.
SPOTTED III
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo having dinner last Thursday night at Cronulla’s popular new waterfront restaurant, Benny’s. Hollywood actor Eric Bana and Sharks legend Jason Stevens were seated at neighbouring tables.
SPOTTED IV
Super agent George Mimis catching up with South Sydney clients Jamie Humphreys and Fletcher Myers at Greek restaurant Kazzi on the Manly beachfront.
UFC TO HELP NRL VEGAS COMBINE
The head of the UFC high performance centre in Las Vegas is set to preside over the second edition of the rugby league combine.
Duncan French’s resume includes stints at the English Institute of Sport and EPL side Newcastle United. He has been with the UFC for seven years and is set to play a pivotal role in the combine after the NRL officially partnered with the UFC in their second attempt to tap into the US market.
Sunday Sesh understands that the NRL will use the UFC Performance Institute to conduct a range of tests on American athletes as they attempt to capitalise on the success of last year’s combine.
The $12 million performance institute was used by NRL teams last year to help them prepare for the inaugural Las Vegas season opener.
It is understood a number of the teams will use the facility again this year.
GOUT GOUT GAINS HULL-PROFILE FAN
Aussie sprint sensation Gout Gout has won plenty of admirers in recent months and can now add Olympic silver medallist Jess Hull to the list.
Hull was as wide-eyed as everyone else as she watched Gout Gout put his opposition to the sword with a series of stunning sprint races this year, culminating in his double at the Queensland Schools Championships last weekend.
“Amazing,” Hull told Sport Con. “I’d heard the hype for so long now and I hadn’t watched a race. Then when I saw that 200m he ran (at the Queensland championships) that went viral, I just clicked on it and I was like, gobsmacked.
“I was like, there’s something special here. Just the way he moves and stuff. I see why … this kid’s the next (big) thing.”
Gout Gout, having recently signed his first professional contract with Adidas, will head to America early next year to train alongside sprint king Noah Lyles.
Hull insists it is the sort of opportunity that could be the making of him.
“That’s pretty cool, especially as a young man,” Hull said.
“Like, what they do on the track is cool, but that’s probably the least that he needs to learn. You learn professionalism, the way to conduct yourself and things.
NFL PLANS FOR SYDNEY ON HOLD
Sydney’s plans to host an American football game have been pushed back a year after it emerged the NFL wasn’t looking to play in Australia until at least 2026.
Venues NSW chair David Gallop and representatives from Destinations NSW recently travelled to England to attend an NFL game and push their case for a game at Accor Stadium.
The hope was that they could convince the NFL to bring a game to Sydney next year, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell let slip during a media interview while in Germany earlier this week that the plans to expand their international schedule did not include Australia.
However, plans remain in place for Venues NSW to pursue an NFL game in 2026.
GUTHO TO REV UP RED V
Reagan Campbell-Gillard predicts former teammate Clint Gutherson will have a dramatic impact at St George Illawarra.
Campbell-Gillard, who has also left the Eels for Gold Coast Titans, was shocked at Gutherson’s departure, describing him as the heart-and-soul of the club.
But he insists that the Eels’ loss will to be the Dragons’ gain as Gutherson brings his winning mentality to the Dragons.
“It’s very hard on him,” Campbell-Gillard said. “If he’s not wanted there, then it’s only going to be another club’s (gain).
“Picking him up will be massive for the Dragons. They need a Clint Gutherson to drive standards.
“And that’s what he does, He brings standards the way he plays … he’s tough and will be winning every fitness drill at the Dragons.
“It’s sad to see him leave … he was the heart and soul of Parra.”
LODGE UP FOR FIGHT
Matt Lodge is ready to scratch his boxing itch. He plans to take the sport seriously too.
The last thing Lodge wants to do is to jump in the ring and make a fool of himself. Or the sport. He’s happy to play the villain, just not the circus act.
“I want to take the sport seriously rather than just jumping in for money or a circus act,” Lodge told Sunday Sesh.
“I like training hard, I like fighting and I like winning.
“I am pretty happy I get the opportunity. I like the sport but I don’t know the ins and outs.
“I am not an idiot. There are levels to boxing …. but the most important thing is I don’t want to get in there and look like shit.
“I want to take it seriously. I don’t want to do it wrong. I don’t think that is respectful to the sport and people coming through the sport.”
Lodge makes his boxing bow at the Bella Vista Hotel on November 24 against Alex Ale on a card promoted by Ricky Colosimo, an ex-fighter whose family is among the biggest hotel owners in the country.
Lodge will be the penultimate fight of the night and if things go to plan, it could be the first of many.
“He has come a long way,” said Colosimo, who himself worked with Lodge’s trainer Rod Williams. “He is legit about boxing. It is not a thing of just trying to make money. He is genuinely going to have a proper crack at the sport.
“I have seen him in action. He needs a bit of polishing but there are glimpses of stuff he does well … glimpses of stuff he does which are very special.”
Lodge insists rugby league is still his priority and expects to have a club in place before the start of next season. In the meantime, boxing will occupy his every thought.
“I am still a footy player but I enjoy boxing,” he said.
“I don’t really care (about being the villain) — I am there to win.”
GET TO KNOW YOUR CEO: WITH EELS BOSS JIM SARANTINOS
First job?
I worked at Darrell Lea at Roselands for a few months as a kid – I’ve got a sweet tooth, so not a good idea.
Greatest personal sporting achievement?
There’s not many that stand out! I won a few local tennis comps as a kid, but that was about it.
Team you supported as a kid?
I loved pretty much every sport as a kid and supported Liverpool, Hawthorn, LA Lakers and Green Bay Packers. Growing up in the Canterbury area, I was a Bulldogs fan.
Your sporting hero?
Michael Jordan, he was just on another level of greatness
What did you want to be when you were younger?
Sport was always my passion, so my dream was to be a professional athlete – I obviously fell short, but having the privilege of working in footy is a pretty good alternative
Most famous person in your phone?
I’d say Joey Johns or Peter Sterling.
What’s at the top of your 2025 wish list?
Good health and happiness for my family – and a premiership for the Blue and Gold!
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