And as the Roosters seek to be the first club to win back-to-back premierships since Brisbane Broncos last century, their brilliant No 1 is in rare and dare one suggest it, Churchill-esque form. A medal with the Immortal’s name would cap the greatest one-man winning season ever.
Yet the Raiders may have an answer: target Tedesco. They won’t “bash” him – you can’t “bash” people on the rugby league field today; you could be arrested – but you can work a player over: bruise the ribs, jolt the hips. The best players cannot be stopped, but you can try to wear them out though repeated high-physicality.
The Raiders’ work on Tedesco on Sunday night will be super-physical. They won’t employ illegality like that which Terry Lamb dished out upon Ellery Hanley in 1988 or Mal Meninga and his mighty forearm guard that so rattled Lamb in 1994. Television sees all and time in the sin bin is to be avoided at all costs. Yet Canberra can try to “ruffle” Tedesco, bruise him and tire him out.
The problem is, Tedesco’s activities can be lethal. The Raiders tried the same with success upon Melbourne Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen in the qualifying final at AAMI Park. Canberra bunted bombs at the lightweight flier and sent hordes of Vikings through to rough him up the best they could. They scrapped and niggled, poked and prodded, dragged him in goal. Statistics tell us that Papenhuyzen ran for a game-high 184 metres yet a couple of long-range efforts made up that number. His team’s scoring was limited to three goals by Cameron Smith and a try in the 42nd minute to Suliasi Vunivalu.
The Raiders defence that evening won the match, as it won the preliminary final against South Sydney when they defended their line with a man in the sin bin, and Souths came at them six times after drop-outs. Canberra’s intensity in the tackle has been staunch across September. It’s been close, tight, physical. Theirs is a pack that’s skilled in the meat locker. Josh Hodgson’s stripping skills add to the angst but they’re just one part of the arsenal.
