The boys took that personal No target on Arrow this time say Roosters
James Tedesco knows the Sydney Roosters cannot lose their cool like they did the last time they played South Sydney and Bondi public enemy No.1 Jai Arrow.
Arrow made an immediate impact on the gameâs oldest rivalry when punched in the back of the head by rookie Rooster Daniel Suluka-Fifita, then waved to him as he was being sin-binned in round two.
Round two ... Jai Arrow greets Roosters rookie Daniel Suluka-Fifita after the Rooster was sent to the sin bin this year.Credit:NRL Photos
The Souths and Queensland representative forward revealed after the game he had deliberately stayed down for a penalty and told the Herald at the time: âI felt the back of my jersey come up and the fist in the back of my head. It didnât hurt me at all, but I thought, âIâll make him [Suluka-Fifita] pay for thisâ. I stayed down and once I heard the ref blow the whistle I pointed at him and said, âSee you champ, youâre offâ.â
Tedesco said at the time his Roosters teammates were standing up for him after Arrow rag-dolled him while concussed during Origin III late last year. Come Friday night, Tedesco expected his pack to show more restraint, including Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who conceded two costly penalties against Souths that night.
âThereâs definitely been no focal point about him [Arrow] this week,â Tedesco said. âObviously there was a bit from what happened last year [in Origin], and the boys took that personal.
âIt bit us in the backside when we had someone sin-binned. Itâs been a big focus has been to not play with emotion, it has got the best of us sometimes ... for us itâs about getting the job done with no emotion attached and doing what we have to do.
âJared fires up quite a bit. Itâs not really abnormal for him to get angry or aggressive, thatâs his natural nature on the field. Idonât think weâll see anything like that again, it will be the natural competition between us and Souths.â
One player who will not feature against the Roosters is winger Josh Mansour, who is out for the rest of the year with a knee injury, Souths captain Adam Reynolds confirmed.
James Tedesco and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves have been enormous for the Roosters.Credit:Getty
Fellow Souths winger Alex Johnston said it was particularly disappointing given the form Mansour had shown in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, NRL football boss Graham Annesley has labelled the governing bodyâs meeting with prospective clubs as âinterestingâ as the game looks to expand the competition.
The NRL board yesterday met with a number of clubs looking to become the 17th franchise and were given presentations from each team.
- with Sarah Keoghan
Christian Nicolussi covers rugby league for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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