Tedesco phones in commitment to Italy

“When do we start.” Those words to Italy team officials was how James Tedesco reacted to his omission from Australia’s 24-man squad for the Rugby League World Cup.

ITA

Tedesco had already pledged his allegiance to the Azzurri if not selected by the Kangaroos but after winning the RLPA Players’ Champion award as the best player in the NRL according to his peers, there were fears he would not be available for a second World Cup with Italy.

However, Billy Slater’s remarkable comeback from a career threatening shoulder injury that sidelined him for 18 months to win the Clive Churchill Medal as player of the match in Melbourne’s grand final triumph left no room in the Australian squad for Tedesco.

“Undoubtedly Billy is the best fullback I have ever seen,” Meninga said. “I know how valuable he is to the footy team, I had him for many years with the Queensland team and his work at the back and communication is extremely good and the best I have seen or heard.

“He [Slater] has been nearly the difference from last year to this year with how the Storm has performed, and certainly in the grand final with how dominant they were." said Australian coach Mal Meninga

“That had a lot to do with him, and the way he is on ball all the time, the way he puts pressure on defences and the way he gets his team around the park with Cooper [Cronk] and Cameron [Smith]. The three of them together are a very formidable trio.”

Incumbent Test fullback Darius Boyd will shift to the wing to accommodate Slater’s return for the Kangaroos, while the versatility of Tom Trbojevic gave him the edge over Tedesco.

With Josh Dugan, Cameron Munster, Michael Morgan, Valentine Holmes and Dane Gagai also capable of playing fullback if necessary, Meninga has placed Penrith winger Josh Mansour on standby if Boyd fails a medical on his injured hamstring on Thursday.

After learning of Meninga’s plans, Tedesco immediately let Italy coach Cameron Ciraldo know he was as committed as ever to playing for the Azzurri again after previously representing his heritage at the 2013 World Cup in England.

“I thought he’d be disappointed at missing out on Australia so I was going to give him 24 hours before contacting him but he phoned our football manager this morning and said, ‘when do we start’,” Ciraldo said.

“He is going to go away for a bit and will be back for the start of our World Cup campaign.”

St George Illawarra prop Paul Vaughan, who played alongside Tedesco in the Prime Ministers XIII team last month, is also available for Italy after being overlooked in the Kangaroos squad for Jordan McLean, who was one of seven Storm players named by Meninga.

Among them are second rower Felise Kaufusi, who will now be unavailable for Tonga, while Samoa have lost lock Josh McGuire to Australia but may be able to call on Josh Papalii after he missed out on a place in the Kangaroos squad.

"That is the strategy around making international football more competitive and making international football more relative across the country and across the world," ARLC chairman John Grant said.

"Naming this team today actually clears the air for a lot of other countries to name players who haven't made this team so it is a fantastic process."

Ciraldo will name the Italy squad on Thursday, along with New Zealand and Tonga. Samoa are waiting for the Kiwis squad to be announced before naming their squad.

By Brad Walter | @BradWalterSport
Chief Correspondent, RLWC2017