James Tedesco delivered a reminder of why he is the incumbent Blues fullback in his performance against the Broncos, with Roosters teammate Angus Crichton saying his skipper was proving doubters wrong.
With Dylan Edwards, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Tom Trbojevic all staking claims for the NSW No.1 jersey, Tedesco played a leading hand in his side’s 40-18 win over Brisbane, with a performance that featured 260 run metres, two try assists and nine tackle breaks.
“You have to have a lot of tools to do what Teddy did tonight, you've got to play lots of different roles, both in attack and defence,” Rooster coach Trent Robison said following the win.
“There were so many different things he had to do tonight and he was always there, constantly there.”
Crichton backed his skipper to continue to deliver on the representative stage.
“Obviously there's fullbacks that have good form and are playing well, but I think people forget how good Teddy can be in those Origin arenas,” Crichton said.
“And he's our captain … anyways, that's not our decision to make, but I know who I'll be picking at fullback.”
Last featuring in Origin himself in 2022, Crichton did his own chances of earning a recall to the Blues side no harm with an outstanding match, scoring two first-half tries to help set up his side’s dominant win.
It has been a huge turnaround in form in recent weeks for Crichton who missed out on selection for the opening rounds of the season, crediting former captain Boyd Cordner for helping get him back on track.
“He's had a massive influence on me, even when I was playing with him to when he's retired and to now; he's someone I've always turned to in good and bad times, and someone who I take a lot of advice and a lot of pride in,” Crichton said.
While Crichton would welcome the opportunity to reunite with Blues coach Michael Maguire – who he debuted under in 2015 at Souths – he said his priority was to perform for the Roosters.
“(Origin is) definitely something I'd like to do, but something that I haven't circled, I haven't goaled,” Crichton said.
Angus Crichton 1st Try
“My focus is solely on winning good games for the Roosters and putting my best foot forward here.
“I want to win a comp here. I want to send out some guys like Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Luke Keary on highs.
“It's no secret we want success here at the club, and I think that [Origin selection] all comes off the back of good success at the club.”
