NRL grand final: James Tedesco wants to break Canberra hearts again after turning down contract advances
He reneged on a deal to join them five years ago and now Roosters star James Tedesco is out to break Canberra’s hearts again, this time in the biggest game of the year.
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James Tedesco is preparing to break the hearts of the Raiders faithful for a second time, five years after backflipping on a deal that would have taken him to the nation’s capital.
Tedesco could be easily wearing the No.1 jersey for the Raiders after agreeing a three-year deal worth about $1.9 million to leave the Tigers for the 2015 season.
Canberra coach Ricky Stuart and chief executive Don Furner were filthy that Tedesco had a belated change of heart, Furner saying at the time he was “bitterly disappointed”.
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Tedesco was well within his rights under the round-13 rule, which has since been scrapped.
Regardless, Canberra fans have been left pondering “what if’ the incumbent Test fullback had joined the Raiders at the time.
While the move is ancient history and plenty has changed since, Tedesco said the saga was a “bit of a shambles”.
“That was so long ago,” Tedesco said after another star performance for the Roosters on Saturday night.
“I was young at the time and had a big offer from them.
“It sounded good at the time but once I had a good think about it, I didn’t want to leave where I was.
“I was very comfortable at the Tigers having been brought up through that club and I didn’t want to leave.
“I have ended up here and another grand final. I can’t argue with that.”
Tedesco was a slated as a big-name replacement for Anthony Milford.
He was among a host of big-name players the Raiders missed out on, including Josh Mansour, Mick Ennis and Kevin Proctor.
“Everyone thought I signed but I agreed over the phone,” Tedesco said.
“I went down on Thursday and (Stuart) rang me on Saturday to have a decision. It was a very quick thinking process.
“I was 21 at the time. I didn’t even know about the June 30 rule or whatever that was. When I had a bit of time to think about it I felt a bit more comfortable to stay at the Tigers and now I have ended up here.
“I used to (cop flack). Even if I went there I still could have ended up here.
“(Stuart) wasn’t happy. Fair enough, I guess.”
Tedesco dislocated his knee cap the next time he played against the Raiders.
It has taken a while, but the Raiders have nabbed their own superstar fullback in Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
Tedesco compared the Kiwi No.1 to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
“He has been awesome this year,” Tedesco said.
“He has been a bit of a find for them.
“I don’t think anyone expected him to go as good as he has.
“He has been impressive to watch. He is similar to Roger when he has the ball — he is hard to tackle and he breaks tackles. He is tough to play against.”