Why Roosters star is smartest skipper
JAMES Tedesco has staked his claim as rugby league’s smartest skipper, with the Roosters No.1 winning more captain’s challenges than any other player.
But as for the rest of the field? Um, there’s some ugly in there.
Like, say, Canterbury losing 59 per cent of every challenge attempted this year.
Or the Wests Tigers, more again since 2020.
Brisbane may be the most improved of all NRL clubs under new skipper Adam Reynolds, however fellow top five teams North Queensland and Cronulla will be hoping their own records are far more successful during the September playoffs.
Despite sitting second and third respectively on the NRL ladder, Cronulla has won just 43 per cent of challenges this year, to place 11th, while the Cowboys are ninth, having won just six of 15.
Yet the worst? The Warriors since the concept was introduced in 2020.
The Aucklanders are so inept when it comes to challenging NRL whistleblowers – both this year, and overall – their numbers are not dissimilar to former Test batsman Shane Watson versus DRS during an Ashes series. But first, Teddy. According to figures provided by the Fox Sports Laboratory, Tedesco not only boasts a captain’s challenge success rate of 65 per cent this year, but has earned it while also challenging more times than any other team bar Gold Coast.
The revelation comes as Roosters coach Trent Robinson heaped praise on the NSW Origin skipper, describing him as the greatest player he has ever coached when it comes to not only backing up after an Origin series, but starring, no matter the expectation.
“He’s rare,” Robinson said of the 29-year-old.
“A rare player. I’ve been lucky enough to coach a lot of really good players over the years, but he’s the rarest I’ve seen at being able to carry an enormous amount of weight – both emotional and physical, with the way he plays – from game to game and then shed it, recover and move on to the next one.
“And he’s built that year on year.
“He walked in here a really high talent, and also nailed that first year for us.
“But his ability to improve it too, to take each step, whether it’s been representative footy, bigger finals that he came to play, captaincy roles … he’s got lighter the heavier the weight has got.
“And I’ve seen that same bloke walk back in here (this past fortnight).”
Importantly, the Roosters skipper has also proved to have an undeniable knack of knowing when to challenge a referee’s call and – just as crucially – when to stay quiet.
Coming into round 19, the Kangaroos fullback owned the best captain’s challenge numbers ahead of Parramatta co-captains Clint Gutherson and Junior Paulo, whose own success rate heading into Thursday night football against Brisbane was 63 per cent.
Next best is Brisbane, whose recruitment of South Sydney favourite Reynolds has coincided with them becoming the competition’s biggest improver when it comes to winning a captain’s challenge.