The Mole: James Tedesco proves he 'should have been picked' for Blues with another Roosters rout

James Tedesco rubbed salt in the NSW Blues' wounds with his match-winning performance in the Roosters' 31-24 defeat of the Dragons over the weekend.

Plenty of critics - including myself - called for Tedesco to get his Blues No.1 jumper back from Dylan Edwards all Origin series.

At Kogarah on Saturday night, Tedesco showed why.

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He set up the winning try for Victor Radley with a magical pass, had a hand in three other tries and ran for nearly 200 metres.

Edwards is a fine fullback, but on form this season, Teddy is better and should have been picked for Origin.

He simply has more attacking options in his bag of tricks than Edwards, who is basically a one-dimensional athlete with a fine running game and little else.

In 2025, Tedesco has 11 try assists, 113 tackle breaks and 15 line breaks.

Edwards, by contrast, has had five try assists, 52 tackle breaks and five line breaks.

Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.

The selectors went against form and preferred sticking with loyalty, and it bit them hard last Wednesday night.

CLEARY'S DEMONS DISAPPEAR

Nathan Cleary started from the bench for the first time in his NRL career on Sunday night - and what a super sub he proved to be.

Cleary demolished the demons from the disastrous Origin finale with a devastating 51-minute display in the 32-10 win over the Eels.

The superstar seven scored one of his trademark solo tries and laid on another in what may prove the only time he ever starts a game from the bench.

The Panthers' fightback after the terrible start to the season is really gaining momentum and they were far too strong for the Eels at CommBank.

BELLAMY DOES IT AGAIN

Eli Katoa is heading for back-to-back Dally M Second-Rower of the Year awards.

The Storm colossus is the most damaging back-rower in the league world and Craig Bellamy has turned him into an elite player in his two and a half seasons in Melbourne.

The rangy Tongan decimated the Knights pack on Saturday afternoon, charging over for two tries and topping the tackle count for good measure.

Katoa has genuine fear factor and his ability to break through the line, or jump high to take attacking bombs, makes him one of the hottest properties in the Storm attacking machine.

COWBOYS GET A GLIMPSE AT THE FUTURE

Reed Mahoney made a statement to both the club he is playing for now and the club he is joining in 2026 in Saturday night's brutal Cowboys v Bulldogs clash.

Mahoney had his best game of the year, winning his battle with NSW Origin rake Reece Robson up the middle.

The Bulldogs' smallest man pulled off some massive hits in defence in a dour, defensive contest and more than once, forced mistakes out of the Cowboys' ball-runners.

NEXT MAN UP FOR WAHS

With star fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad set to miss at least another two to three weeks with a knee injury, the Warriors are blessed to have a wonderful replacement in Taine Tuaupiki.

Tuaupiki inherited the hot seat in yesterday's win over the Tigers and shone, running for over 220 metres and coming up with a try assist and a line break assist.

Fast and elusive, the 25-year-old has been used mainly as a winger this season with Nicoll-Klokstad firmly entrenched as the club's best number one.

But Tuaupiki has filled in twice at fullback so far this year - and helped the Wahs to wins both times.

HARD MAN'S INCREDIBLE PREPARATION

They don't come much tougher then Sharks iron man Cameron McInnes.

The veteran forward was admitted to hospital with a painful cellulitis infection on Friday morning and spent several hours on a drip.

But rather than go home and rest after the procedure, McInnes went straight to Shark Park and led Cronulla to a vital 24-12 win over the Dolphins.

In a must-win game after the team has had a month of poor form, the Sharks were inspired by their skipper's bravery and got the job done against the dangerous Dolphins.

It was also a big 24 hours for star back rower Briton Nikora - his partner gave birth earlier in the day.