ROOSTER TEDESCO FRONTS UP TO TRAIN
THERE are still 89 days until their NRL season kicks off, but already the Sydney Roosters are in lockdown.
The Bondi club did their best to make zero fuss about their $4 million man James Tedesco officially starting training yesterday.
Official requests to take some photos of the superstar full-back’s first day on the job were politely knocked back.
But Tedesco was spotted shortly after 10.30am, decked out in some pristine Roosters training gear.
Tedesco looked in good spirits as he walked from Roosters HQ and shared a laugh with Blake Ferguson, his NSW teammate and winger.
The pair, followed by former Parramatta and Waratahs flyer Reece Robinson in the background, joined the likes of Luke Keary and Jake Friend, who had commenced training half an hour earlier.
There is plenty of pressure on the Roosters and coach Trent Robinson to win the 2018 NRL title after they secured Tedesco and also won the race for Cooper Cronk.
Provided Cronk and Tedesco remain fit, anything less than a top-two finish would be unacceptable for the Roosters who bowed out with a whimper last season.
Anthony Minichiello, one of the Roosters’ greatest fullbacks who played more than 300 games for the club, said it was great to see Tedesco officially start, and the external pressure on the club was similar to 2013 when Sonny Bill Williams and Michael Jennings arrived.