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James Tedesco will play fullback for NSW in the State of Origin series opener only days after being ousted by Dylan Edwards, who has since injured his left quadriceps.
Former Blues captain Tedesco will join the squad in Sydney on Sunday instead of playing for the Sydney Roosters against North Queensland.
Penrith fullback Edwards pulled up sore following a training session at NSW’s Blue Mountains camp on Saturday, leading the Blues to contact the Roosters and ask whether Tedesco could be on stand-by for Origin I.
Scans on Sunday morning revealed a quadriceps strain that has convinced the Blues it would be too risky for Edwards to make his Origin debut in the series opener at Accor Stadium on Wednesday.
Edwards’ injury is not serious and only likely to sideline him in the short-term.
Dylan Edwards at NSW Blues training. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
The New South Wales Rugby League needed to seek an exemption from the Australian Rugby League Commission to bring Tedesco in from outside their initial 20-man squad.
With permission now granted, Tedesco will make a fairytale return to the Blues only days on from Michael Maguire’s initial decision to axe him following 22 consecutive games as the state’s fullback.
“Teddy’s the sort of bloke who will just see this as the greatest opportunity to prove himself,” former NSW coach Brad Fittler said on The Sunday Footy Show.
“He had a quiet year a couple of years ago and ever since then he’s just gone through a bit of a change, changed his game. I think a lot of that attacking stuff, he’s gotten better at that.
“That’s why I was surprised he didn’t get picked in the first place, but he’ll see this as a massive challenge to be able to prove not only to the coach, but to everyone, that he’s the number one man.”
New skipper Jake Trbojevic will retain the Blues captaincy despite Tedesco’s return.
The Roosters switched Joey Manu to fullback on their team sheet for the clash against the Cowboys at Allianz Stadium, with centre Michael Jennings coming into the centres after being named 18th man the day before kick-off.
The injury is a major blow to Edwards, who had finally been set for a chance in the Origin arena after years as one of the NRL’s elite fullbacks.
Prior to Maguire’s appointment as coach for the 2024 series, Tedesco had been a walk-up starter to captain and play fullback for NSW, even as Edwards helped guide Penrith to three consecutive premierships.
Maguire’s call to cut Tedesco, in strong form for the Roosters this season, divided opinion when the Blues’ team sheet was released last Sunday.
Fittler expected Tedesco may still have been hurting when Maguire called to ask whether he could be on stand-by for the game.
“I don’t know how warm it’s going to be, if you ever got dropped, you’re not feeling good about it,” Fittler said.
“(The phone call) would’ve been the least amount of words: ‘You’ve got an opportunity to do a job here’.
“A lot couldn’t walk into that scenario but I think he can.”
The good news for the Blues is that Nicho Hynes is expected to shake off his calf troubles and play in the State of Origin series opener after completing his most productive training session since NSW went into camp.
The NSW halfback ran as confidently as any since entering pre-Origin camp under an injury cloud. Hynes and the Blues then completed an opposed session with players from Penrith’s pathways teams.
Team staff later said Hynes had pulled up fine and would play in the Origin series opener at Accor Stadium on June 5, provided he did not aggravate the injury that began troubling him in early May.
NSW have released 19th man Luke Keary, who had been on stand-by to play in the halves in the event Hynes did not make it through Saturday’s crucial training session at Blue Mountains Grammar.
Keary spent time training separately from the Blues on Saturday but team staff told AAP this was only because he is due to play in the Sydney Roosters’ clash against North Queensland on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Josh Addo-Carr’s hopes of receiving a NSW recall later in the State of Origin series have been thwarted by a hamstring injury that is set to sideline him until August.
Canterbury football boss Phil Gould confirmed on Saturday morning the 15-time Blues winger, overlooked for next week’s Origin I, would miss between eight and 10 weeks after going off during Friday’s win at Newcastle.
Addo-Carr was substituted out of the Bulldogs’ 32-2 victory just after halftime, with scans on Saturday morning revealing a high-grade hamstring tear.
with AAP
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