EXCLUSIVE: Teddy lifts lid on secret rugby recruit that has Roosters veterans flying

By his own admission, James Tedesco has been a little slow off the blocks in recent NRL seasons.

So, too, his Roosters, who were stunned by competition newcomers the Dolphins in round one of last year.

The Chooks entered 2023 as heavily-backed premiership favourites and, while they did limp into the second week of finals, they certainly failed to reach the expectations set months earlier.

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But Tedesco is adamant things have changed in 2024.

An upset victory over the Broncos in Las Vegas was followed by a tough 21-14 loss to Manly in round two. The Bondi boys are heavy favourites to beat South Sydney on Friday to go 2-1 to start the redemption campaign.

The difference? A new strength and conditioning chief at the Roosters.

"We had a new trainer come in... usually some of the older guys would not do most of the session, or get pulled out of different things to look after us," Tedesco - a BSc Supplements ambassador - told Wide World of Sports this week.

"But this pre-season we all did everything, there wasn't any leeway there."

Simon Jones was previously head of performance at Super Rugby club Highlanders, and before that was with Japan's national set-up from 2016 to 2019. Last year he worked with the All Blacks XV.

Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.

The Roosters brought him across the ditch this year in an effort to rectify the issues of last season.

And while the club veterans - including the likes of Tedesco, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Daniel Tupou and Luke Keary - have found it tough, the skipper believes it will lead to success.

"The last couple of years maybe I hadn't done that work to really trust myself when getting into the start of the year," he said.

"I think we all felt it was probably one of the hardest pre-seasons we've had (this time).

"Long days, we had big kilometres on the field then had to come in and do extra strength and conditioning as well, which was something we hadn't done before.

"That just got us fitter. Even on the weekend (in round two), we didn't win but we still felt fit and strong, it's not like we faded away even though Manly had a lot of the ball.

"Physically we're in a really good spot where we haven't been at this time of the year for a while.

"At the Roosters it's probably noted that we start the season slow and come good by the end of the year, so we're definitely in a good spot where we haven't been previously physically. That's definitely a positive."

The critics came thick and fast for the Roosters last year.

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As their captain and superstar fullback it was Tedesco who copped the brunt of scrutiny.

League legend Brad Fittler recently suggested to Wide World of Sports' Freddy and the Eighth those struggles were partly due to Tedesco trying to do too much to rescue his side.

The skipper doesn't disagree.

"I think naturally, as a captain and senior player, when things aren't going well you sort of take that upon yourself to try and generate some success," Tedesco said.

"I think that's natural for me to try carry that a bit... I probably overcompensate a little bit, try to play too hard.

"I don't know if that was the full reason but that's something I've probably felt, when the team's not going well I try to shoulder that responsibility and try to do stuff individually, which is not how you fix things.

"That's definitely a good lesson for me to learn."