James Tedesco is celebrating his State of Origin recall, admitting on Monday after the New South Wales team was named – and he was included over incumbent Dylan Edwards – that he had expected to never play on rugby league’s grand stage again.
The reigning Dally M Medallist has been in career-best form, but has been excluded from the Blues squad for the last two years behind Edwards, who was a key part of the Penrith fourpeat between 2021 and 2024. Before that, “Teddy” had played every single rubber for the Blues between the 2016 and 2023 series and had bowed out as state skipper.
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“I’ve been out of this arena for a couple of years now, and I think I accepted last year that I probably wasn’t going to be back here,” Tedesco admitted to rugby league media after being selected by head coach Laurie Daley this week.
“But I’ve been really happy with how I’ve been playing my footy, and you never know when a chance is going to pop up. I thought Dyl’s been playing some unreal footy as well, so definitely could have gone either way.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity, and I look around this team and [I’m] excited to play with these players and get the job done.”
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“I debuted in 2016 and played every game until 2023 when I got dropped. To be honest, I held that jersey for a long time, so I accepted that the jersey was gone,” Tedesco continued. “When we didn’t win those couple of series back-to-back, it was probably time for a change. I probably accepted the jersey was gone, and I didn’t know if I’d ever get it back.
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“But I just kept my head down and kept playing the footy that I wanted to play and leading from the front for the Roosters,” he added, pointing out that “you never know when it’s going to be your last” time in Origin.
“I’m getting to the end of my career, so this is an opportunity for me to represent myself and my family but also get the job done.”
