Dally M 2019: James Tedesco’s wins Peter Frilingos Headline Moment of Year
It was a play rugby league fans will never forget, an act of redemption and brilliance. There is no question that James Tedesco’s State of Origin-winning try was the Peter ‘Chippy’ Frilingos Headline Moment of Year.
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The best stories keep you guessing until the very end.
Included in the greatest storylines also, is an element of heartbreak, a surprise plot twist and of course, a hero.
The Dally M Peter ‘Chippy’ Frilingos Headline Moment of Year award for 2019 was everything the script writers could ask for — and more.
NSW State of Origin fullback James Tedesco’s series-winning try in game three this year was a runaway winner of the prestigious award at the Dally Ms.
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The high-pressure moment, the lead-up and the try to win the decider, will go down in history as one of the most defining moments in State of Origin’s 39-year history.
Looking back, it’s only now that you realise how every NSW coach in the future, will use it as motivation to never say never.
Not only were there 30 seconds remaining in the decider, but in the previous seven deciders, NSW had never won one.
Zero from seven.
And so here the Blues were, against Queensland with the scoreboard level 20-20-all at ANZ Stadium, when as fate would have it, the ball would land in the hands of Mitchell Pearce.
The most maligned man in NSW State of Origin history and a punching bag of the Blues for so long, threw the pass with the game on the line that would provide NSW with the chance to break the hearts of millions north of the border.
It would’ve been so easy for Pearce to submit to a tackle and instead focus on a quick-play-the ball.
But no, he backed himself, remembering the advice of his coach, Brad Fittler.
“There was a minute to go and we had to take a risk,” Pearce said.
“Freddy (Coach Brad Fittler) has always encouraged us to play some footy and I had the big athletes — Turbo (Tom Trbojevic) and Fergo (Blake Ferguson) — sitting out there and I just saw space.’’
Pearce sped a cut-out pass to Trbojevic, who with space to move, quickly found his wingman, Blake Ferguson.
Ferguson, sensational all season for Parramatta, showed his true class.
He somehow maintained his speed, even when stumbling past the clutches of Corey Norman coming across in cover.
As he regathered his feet, Ferguson also needed to narrowly escape scraping the touchline, before then finding the game’s best player, Tedesco, in support.
“I was just running. Just running,” Ferguson told The Daily Telegraph.
“I threw the ball in hoping for the best.”
At first glance, it appeared as if Ferguson threw the ball behind Tedesco. The NSW winger saw it differently.
“Teddy was running too fast,” Ferguson said.
“I threw it dead flat but he still overran it. I couldn’t believe it. But you know what? It actually helped because he stopped and Mbye slipped over.”
Tedesco — like the skilful technician he is — reached back to collect the pass as Mbye overran him and then skipped away to score.
“I want to give credit to Fergo,” Tedesco said.
“He was awesome down the sideline and then to throw it back inside — it’s a pretty surreal feeling
“It was unbelievable, to score the winning try in an Origin decider. Queensland was coming after us in that last ten minutes. It was relief to get it done.
“To do it in front of our home fans, friends and family, it’s pretty special.”