James Tedesco made a pretty decent case to keep the Kangaroos’ No. 1 jersey after he played a pivotal role in saving Australia from a World Cup embarrassment against Fiji.
Rugby league’s top-ranked nation survived an almighty scare on Sunday night when they had to come from behind to beat the Bati 36-22 at Suncorp Stadium.
Just as Reece Walsh was brilliant at fullback for Australia against New Zealand last week, Tedesco was the saviour on a humid night in the Queensland capital in front of 41,108 fans.
His decision to run the ball on the last tackle set up a crucial try for Sam Walker just before half-time, while he came up with another three try assists, and kept a calm head when a boilover looked on the cards early in the second half.
Coach Kevin Walters was giving little away about whether he would go with Tedesco or Walsh for Saturday’s clash against the Cook Islands in Townsville.
Australia handed debuts to Walker, David Fifita, Bradman Best and Blayke Brailey, so were always going to be a little clunky with their combinations. They needed a lot more resilience and effort from their pack.
But Walters will know his team needs to click into gear in north Queensland, otherwise they risk being rolled in the semi-final, which for the Australians will now be on Sunday November 8 in Sydney.
Walters, who had Walsh parked behind him in the coaches’ box, was happy to praise Tedesco after he was rested against the Kiwis.
“That’s what you expect from this guy, he’s been doing it a long time,” said Walters, when asked about the good things Tedesco produced.
“He was probably one of the differences out there for Australia. His work in attack was very good, defensively he was good, he’s a world-class player – that’s why he’s been the player he has been for a long time.
As for the fullback debate, Walters said: “I wouldn’t call it a [selection] headache. It’s a great situation to be in, to have two of the best fullbacks in the game available to us. They keep producing. We’ll have a chat and make some decisions about next week.
“Reece was one of our best in game one, and James was one of our best players tonight. It’s a good position to be in.”
Tedesco said he was open to moving from fullback if that was what Walters wanted, but Walters will also be aware Queensland were happy to use Walsh and his speed as a “super sub” in State of Origin games, which is another option.
Walker and Tom Dearden both did nice things and remain in their own two-way race to partner Cam Munster in the halves.
Munster, Harry Grant and Latrell Mitchell were all named on an extended bench against Fiji, but did not feature – Walters only used three players on the interchange – while Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin and Walsh are also fresh for the trip north. Canberra’s Ethan Strange came into the squad for Mitchell Moses and will make his green and gold debut next week.
Arguably the most disappointed player in the winning Australian sheds was Trbojevic, who scored three tries, but blamed himself for allowing his opposite, Semi Valemei, to score his own treble. Fiji were happy to target Trbojevic’s right wing with man-of-the-match – and 2027 NSW Origin bolter – Kurt Donoghoe happy to keep going that way.
“I’m disappointed with a few areas, yes, we won, but I need to learn from this and move forward,” Trbojevic said.
“It’s a different position, you have to do a different job defensively. Would I like to be better? Yes. Do I feel comfortable out there? Yes. There are just areas I need to improve.”
Trbojevic said he had no interest in resting for the sake of preserving his hamstrings. He also loved playing with Tedesco, and said: “He’s a quality player I’ve played a fair bit of footy with at rep level, and he was outstanding out there.”
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