Tom Trbojevic a looming threat to incumbent NSW fullback James Tedesco

IF you thought Wests Tigers star James Tedesco had a mortgage on the NSW No. 1 jumper for years to come, think again.

Who is NSW's number one? (L-R) James Tedesco and Tom Trbojevic.

IF you thought James Tedesco had a mortgage on the NSW No. 1 jumper for years to come, think again.

Trent Barrett might be biased but he reckons towering 20-year- old Tom Trbojevic will be ready to challenge Tedesco for the job next year.

The two gun fullbacks will go head-to-head Sunday when Manly take on the Wests Tigers at Lottoland.

Rather than play down the match-up, Barrett did not back away from Trbojevic’s enormous potential.

While some see Trbojevic as the ideal player to come in on the wing for NSW moving forward, Barrett thinks he will take some stopping to keep him away from his preferred position.

James Tedesco has a battle on his hands to retain the NSW fullback role.

“He is an out-and-out fullback,” Barrett said.

“He is not a winger. He is a strike player.”

Asked directly if he believes Trbojevic will be challenging Tedesco for the Blues’ fullback spot next year, Barrett said straight up: “Yes, definitely.”

Fox Sports Stats back him up with Trbojevic’s numbers this year surprisingly ahead of Tedesco in most areas.

Trbojevic has scored eight tries to Tedesco’s two, has almost twice as many try assists and linebreaks, averages more metres, makes more tackles and misses less.

While Trbojevic doesn’t have as many tackle busts, he more than holds his own in just about every vital statistic.

And he is much bigger, weighing 105kg and standing at 194cm while Tedesco weighs 93kg and is 180 tall.

Who is NSW's number one? (L-R) James Tedesco and Tom Trbojevic.

“His growth as a player in the next 12 months will be huge,” Barrett added.

“He is still learning and fullback is a difficult role.

“They are so important to your attack but even more so defensively and he is starting to get that right.

“Billy Slater is still the benchmark for the work he does off the ball defensively.

“The thing is Tom is willing to work at it and he knows the areas he has to work on.

“You can just see Tom with another pre-season under his belt and another 12 months of development, he will go just get better and better.”

In no way was Barrett being disrespectful towards Tedesco’s performances for NSW this year despite this week’s disappointing series defeat.

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But he hopes when the younger Trbojevic is ready for Origin, he gets to play where he belongs.

“That (fullback) is his position if they would be looking to do something with him down the track,” Barrett said.

Manly will be also boosted by the return of Trbojevic’s brother Jake from NSW duties tomorrow.

Despite playing off the bench throughout the series, Jake was one of the Blues’ best in all games and certainly cemented his place as a representative player for a long time to come.

“Look, if there was an Australian side getting picked I think he’d be in it,’ Barrett said of his lock forward.

“He gives you so much value.

“He can play long minutes and he is skilful and a terrific team person.

“He is real valuable to us.

“We missed him last week against Penrith.”