Six weeks in to a new season and new style of play under Coach Jason Taylor, Wests Tigers fullback James Tedesco says he’s happy with how the side has been building so far but is keen to see plenty of improvement this weekend.
Tedesco, who grabbed his sixth try in as many matches to start 2015 in Saturday’s defeat to the New Zealand Warriors, said that the team was eager to lift their standard and execution from what they delivered in their 32-22 defeat at Mount Smart Stadium.
“Yeah, it wasn’t the greatest game from our point of view,” Tedesco reflected.
There's NOTHING quite like a packed hill! Be there on Sunday, April 19 when we take on the Canberra Raiders at Leichhardt Oval!
“Obviously they got a bit of a roll on in that last-10 minute period and they got away to a bigger lead than we’d have liked, but saying that, there were a few periods in there that we are on top of them. We were a bit on and off, so there’s lots of improvement [that can] take place across the board this weekend against the Raiders.
“Having said that, I think we’ve been pretty good [so far this season].
“The games we’ve lost, we’ve really been in those games up until the last 10 minutes, so we’ve really improved there. Our defence has been a big positive for us, so once we get our attacking structures as best it can be, we’ll be a really tough team to play against.
“Coming off last year where we had a good start and [then] fell off with injuries and stuff like that, I think we just want to keep that consistency going this weekend.”
Returning from two knee injuries in 2014 that required extensive surgery mid-way through the season, Tedesco said he was simply enjoying back on the field, and taking his footy one game at a time with teammates that he calls “his best mates.”
“I’m really enjoying it here at the Club and really happy with how I’m going,” he said.
“We’ve had some good results for us to build on as a team, which has helped.
“The body is feeling 100 percent at the moment and I’m confident in how I’m playing.
“Obviously there’s still some things for me to improve on personally, but I’m just happy to be playing, so I’m taking it one game at a time and try to play out the year.
“Every week is different and we’ve got a big test this weekend against the Raiders.
“They obviously had a tough game against the Storm last week, but you can see that they’ve had a tough pre-season and are really reaping the rewards from that.
“I think it’ll be a good game, with two structurally-good attacking teams.”
The Camden Rams junior, who is yet to score a try against the Canberra Raiders, said he was also looking forward to playing his first game back at Leichhardt Oval, having not played there since he suffered a knee injury in Round 5, 2014 against Manly.
“Sunday afternoon is one of our favourites times to playing,” he said.
“There shouldn’t be any excuse for the fans and Members not to get out there.
"It should be a packed house and that should make for a really good game.”
Don’t miss watching Wests Tigers in action in their first Leichhardt Oval game of 2015 this Sunday! Get your tickets by clicking here and help pack the hill on the day!
