James Tedesco: The Mindset that made him an NRL Great & the life he's building after footy

James Tedesco has won grand finals, captained his state and country, and collected more Jack Gibson Medals than anyone in Roosters history. But what drives a man who's already achieved everything rugby league has to offer? In this episode of Straight Talk, Teddy discusses the self-doubt that never goes away, the mindset work he's done since 2015, and the brutal discipline of consistency that separates the talented from the great. For more content like this: Subscribe to the Mentored newsletter here: https://the-mentored-platform-pty-ltd.myklpages.com/l/WWJGc5 Join my exclusive Mentored+ community: https://mentored.com.au/become-a-member/ See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  James Tedesco, welcome straight to it, mate.

• 0:02Speaker 01

  Thanks for having me, Mark.

• 0:03Speaker 00

  Been a long time to get you here, mate. Like, footy's not that busy, surely.

• 0:07Speaker 01

  It's the first time you've asked me, I answered yes straight away.

• 0:09Speaker 00

  Thanks, mate, I appreciate it. So I remember when you were at Balmain, we were at West Tigers, and I remember sitting in Nick Politas's house, apartment, and I think Robbo was there. I don't remember if your manager was there, Nick was there, of course, and meeting this James, I remember meeting this young guy called James Tedesco, obviously it was you, and I found out that, from Robbo, that you were a Camden boy, and I think Mini was there, Minicello was there too. So can you go back to that time when you first joined the Sydney Roosters? Can you remember and why you wanted to join the Roosters? I mean, how's that process work?

• 0:53Speaker 00

  Why did you decide to leave West Tigers?

• 0:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, obviously I started my career at the Tigers in 2012 and, you know, for that whole six years, I think we had four or five different coaches. We didn't make the eight. There was a lot of instability, I guess. We had players come and go, and I think I was, an opportunity came to come to a club like the Roosters straight away. I mean, I went for the Roosters when I was a kid growing up.

• 1:15Speaker 00

  Oh, really?

• 1:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, I paid for Cannon Rams, we had the same colours, I was a Roosters fan, loved Freddie, played with Mini in the 2013 World Cup, which was a big highlight for me, I was 19 years of age. Mini was someone I sort of idolised, so I definitely had that connection with the Roosters, and then I didn't think an opportunity would come up, but it did, and I didn't want to sound too excited straight away, but I was, I was pretty excited.

• 1:37Speaker 00

  You played your cards pretty close to your chest, because at the end of it, it cost us a bit of money. I still recall, that was a pretty good negotiation, actually, but you were pretty cool.

• 1:45Speaker 01

  Well, yeah, I mean, I was still, I was 24 at that time, and as I said, there was a bit going on at the Tigers, you know, so me, Mitch and Brooksie, Woodsy, they were talking about us trying to keep us four, then Mitch left, and then me and, we all had the same manager at the time as well, so there was a lot, lot going on at that time, and as I said, Bulldogs and the Roosters were the two teams that went into it. I met with the Bulldogs as well, went to their facilities, and then I met with Roosters and heard about Nick Politas, never met it, never seen him before, and it was quite intimidating, meeting him for the first time at his place in the city there, and I think I was pretty nervous, but I remember just talking to Robbo, you know, having detailed conversations, he'd tell me about my game and what improvements he sees, where he sees my game going.

• 2:26Speaker 00

  Oh, really?

• 2:26Speaker 01

  And that, and straight away, I was like, you know, that was a eye opener, like, wow, this could be a great move for me. Obviously, the club itself, I mean, look at the team they had, the Superstars, the rich history, you know, it was just a great opportunity. It wasn't money, I think Tigers offered more money at the time, but the opportunity to go to a successful club and have a chance to win a premiership, that was my main reason.

• 2:48Speaker 00

  I often wonder about that, the chance to win premiership and maybe pay Origin, et cetera. You weren't at Origin at that, you were at Origin at that point. Why is playing for Australia, why is playing for Origin, and why is it winning a grand final? Why is that a big decider?

• 3:03Speaker 01

  They're the pinnacles, I think, of rugby league, playing in the NRL. I think as a kid, you grow up, wanting to live the dream of playing NRL, that's the first one. Then you're watching Origin as a kid, New South Wales, you know, like, you're watching the build-up, everyone talking about it, the energy that's in the playing Origin, and you watch the game, it's a battle for everything, you're thinking like, I wanna, that's the pinnacle, I want to play for that. And then playing for Australia, well, that's a chance to represent your country, and that's the highest level that you can represent. So that's all the three goals that you have as a kid for me. That's what I dreamed of doing, and I think I was achieving that at the Tigers. I played New South Wales 2016,

• 3:42Speaker 01

  made my debut, played in 2017, but Billy Slater was issuing fullback at the time, but I was sort of getting closer. 2017 was the World Cup, and I was thinking I might be a chance of making the squad, but Billy, Billy was the number one, but I might have been a chance on the squad, or an opportunity there, but didn't get it, played for Italy instead, and then 2018, I think that was my main purpose, was trying to win a premiership, and it happened quickly, back to back, which is really cool.

• 4:09Speaker 00

  You mentioned it was your dream as a kid. Can we go right back? Who are you playing from Camden?

• 4:14Speaker 01

  Camden Rams.

• 4:15Speaker 00

  Camden Rams, that's right, and that's got announced recently in the Origin, you played Origin again this year, most recently, and when you're, when you're a kid, brothers and sisters?

• 4:28Speaker 01

  The older brother.

• 4:29Speaker 00

  Older brother?

• 4:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:30Speaker 00

  Footy, play footy?

• 4:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, he actually had a, something of a birth age disease when he was a kid, and so his hip joint, and he couldn't really run as a kid, and he sort of had, he sort of had this big limp, and he couldn't, I was running around out in the backyard. We lived on 250 acres.

• 4:46Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 4:46Speaker 01

  At Anmenangle, so my dad had footy posts, we made like cricket nets, I was hitting golf, any sport I wanted to do, I'd do it, and I had the opportunity to do that, and my brother tried, but he couldn't move around as quickly as me, but I'd be out there by myself, to be honest, just kicking the footy around, and dad made a passing circle, and practised my passing.

• 5:05Speaker 00

  Playing on the footy show?

• 5:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 5:07Speaker 00

  That's cool.

• 5:08Speaker 01

  And I'd just be out there, you know, playing footy games against myself for a lot of the time, and, and when I'm doing that, I'm dreaming that I'm playing for the Roosters or playing for New South Wales or Australia, so it's pretty cool. I mean, I had all the opportunities growing up as a kid. I played league on Saturdays, union on Sundays.

• 5:23Speaker 00

  Where'd you go to school?

• 5:24Speaker 01

  St Greg's, I went to St Paul's at Camden, then went to St Greg's College at Campbelltown.

• 5:28Speaker 00

  Okay, which, I think Robbo went to St Greg's, yep.

• 5:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, he did.

• 5:31Speaker 00

  And his brother, yeah.

• 5:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, a lot of football coaches and players have come out.

• 5:35Speaker 00

  That's a football rugby league school, is it?

• 5:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's, it was, it's sort of gone in and out of, back to union and league, but I think it's back to league now, so it's, yeah.

• 5:43Speaker 00

  So if you're a good footballer, they go chase you?

• 5:45Speaker 01

  Well, sometimes there's scholarships, there's a boarding school, but I live 20 minutes away, so there was no, I just went to the school because I wasn't that talented as a kid, but.

• 5:54Speaker 00

  Was your dad a farmer?

• 5:55Speaker 01

  Well, he, so he grew up in Ride, I was born in Ride, and mum was born in Anangle, she lived in Anangle, that's where her family's from, so dad's Italian side is around Ride, and his dad had a farm at Dural, so he had a bit of farming experience, that the flowers, he used to go to flowers every Sunday, Sydney markets, so when we moved out there, moved back to where my mum's dad was living, to look after him at Anangle and the property, and dad did a bit of farming, didn't, didn't do heaps, but he's sort of got the hang of it, did the flowers, had the beef, cattle as well, so that's my memories growing up, trying to chase cattle around and trying to help him out, but I was no, I was no good.

• 6:31Speaker 00

  Were you always quick?

• 6:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, I was always quick as a kid, yeah, that was probably my, my main strength, speed and agility. I was quite small, I probably, I hit puberty probably late.

• 6:41Speaker 00

  Italians, mate, normally, normally Italians go early.

• 6:43Speaker 01

  Well, that was the thing, as a kid in primary school, I sort of stood out because of my speed, and I had a bit of skill, and then when I got to high school, St Greg's, everyone shot up and got bigger around me, I sort of stayed my size, and I wasn't standing out as much as I was when I was younger.

• 6:57Speaker 00

  Were you aware of that? I mean, is that something you worked on, your, your power, because you've got massive power from waist down?

• 7:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's interesting, I'm not too sure where that actually comes from, I mean, I think a lot of people say it's my Italian heritage, I get a strong base, but, I mean, when I, when I came into first grade, debuted, I was 19, I was probably only 83 kilos.

• 7:17Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 7:18Speaker 01

  And I think once I, you know, I had two, three years of injuries to my lower legs, I really built a solid base of just doing lots of weights, and couldn't run as much, and I was just, I think that's where I built up my strength and my ability to sort of break tackles come through those years.

• 7:33Speaker 00

  You want to win grand finals, which you have, you wanted to play for your country, which you have, you want, obviously you were playing, you always wanted to play Origin, which you have, you've captained, by the way, all three, which are pretty amazing, you know, you've got an award list like most people would die for, rugby league players would die for, but did you have any moments in your Origin career, for example, that are your favourite moments?

• 8:00Speaker 01

  Well, yeah, I mean, Origin is a, it's a, it's a different beast.

• 8:06Speaker 00

  I love it.

• 8:06Speaker 01

  Six, seven weeks, it is like the most intensity, probably more mentally than physically, I mean, the game physically for a man is a different beast, and that's.

• 8:14Speaker 00

  Speed, I want to talk about the speed of the game a little bit later, but I want to do one to talk about the mental intensity.

• 8:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, mental intensity, like, every day there's media stories about your teammates, yourself, coaches, and that's all, that's all anyone talks about for six weeks.

• 8:29Speaker 00

  Do you read it?

• 8:30Speaker 01

  No, I try not to, but it pops up sometimes, or someone will make, what about this, and you know, I don't really want to read that, but thanks for, thanks for sharing, but I think mentally it's, it's, it's draining, and you have to find a great balance of, well, the first thing is being present and not worrying, and just worrying about what's in, what's inside camp, not worrying about what's happening externally, or what other people are saying externally about you or your team.

• 8:52Speaker 00

  Or the coach these days?

• 8:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, we saw this year how much scrutiny and, yeah, what everyone was writing about our coach, so, and sometimes you read, like, that just pops up and you read it, and that, that makes you think, it makes you not present, you know what I mean, and that's, that's tough, that takes away from being.

• 9:10Speaker 00

  Is it exhausting?

• 9:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, 100%.

• 9:12Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 9:13Speaker 01

  It's a, it's a, when it's all going well, you're winning games, like 8, 8, 9 in those series for me, we're winning, I was playing, I got, well, it was medal, it was all great times, the best times of my life, you know, everyone, everyone's happy, and then when you lose, you lose a couple of series in a row, and I'm not getting dropped from it, it's like the worst.

• 9:31Speaker 00

  It's your fault.

• 9:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's the worst.

• 9:33Speaker 00

  So you still, you still, you feel that, like?

• 9:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm reflecting back on it, yeah, and I think, I was, I think I was out of it for, you know, 24 and 25, but caught in late the first game at 24 because of an injury, but being away from it, I missed it because I wanted to test myself against the best players in the game at the highest level, and that's Origin, the biggest arena, so for me to sort of find my way back into the team this year, that was a proud moment for me, because I knew I could still play at that level and, and do a good job, and, and to come back and win a series is a great feeling. If you came back and lost the series, be devastating.

• 10:10Speaker 00

  Do you think that, I mean, do players, I mean, do you think your team won for Laurie? I mean, was there much of that going on?

• 10:14Speaker 01

  I think we, like, we didn't really talk about it, but I think internally, us as players, like, we felt the, the world against him, and, you know, it was on us, and nothing's on him, our performance isn't on him, but a lot of the media said that and wrote that, so for us, it was, hey, let's bond together, we don't, don't care what anyone else says outside of this team, this player's staff, you know, it's on us to go out and perform, we know what our best footy looks like, we just need to go and execute it, and, you know, game two was, we all weren't at our best, I think Nathan was called in all these, but like Nathan was the best player in game one, and in game two, he's the worst player, it's just like, it's the roller coaster of Origin, and then the scrutiny

• 10:58Speaker 01

  that comes with it, but I'm glad, you know, a lot of people didn't give us a chance up there at St Corbin in the decider, but I think there's a lot of belief, a lot of trust in what we can do, and Laurie was a part of that. His passion, his love for the jersey, the state, is what's on through the most, and, you know, that was critical in us doing the job for him.

• 11:17Speaker 00

  You were captain of Origin until you missed out on being selected, and, you know, you missed out for a couple of years, and then you come back and someone else is captain, how does that feel?

• 11:27Speaker 01

  No, it's it's it's it's less pressure.

• 11:29Speaker 00

  Oh, really?

• 11:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:30Speaker 00

  You probably think it's good.

• 11:31Speaker 01

  It is. I think, you know, but I think even Boyd, Boyd was part of the staff and he sort of said to me, mate, still be a leader, still be who you are, don't, don't hold back. And I think sometimes it's been like that for Ches this year. I mean, he's been captain, Cherry Evans, he's been captain for a long time and now he's not. And I'm like, mate, just encourage you to talk. Cause that helps me.

• 11:49Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 11:49Speaker 01

  As a captain, you know, I don't want to be doing all the talking all the time. So I think I was, you know, with Yowie, we had so many good leaders in the Origin team. Um, me, Kim, Mari, Nath, Mitch Moses, and Yowie would encourage us to, to talk whenever we, whenever we can. So to help him out, which I'm just one voice. I think that's important, having multiple voices, um, sending different messages. I think the, the group really responds to that well.

• 12:11Speaker 00

  Cause I was wondering, I was thinking to myself, like if that happened to me, I'd be thinking, oh, I've got to respect the, the captain and I've just cute to myself.

• 12:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:19Speaker 00

  But it's okay for, um, um, Boyd Corden to say that he's, he's assistant coach, but Boyd, I can say it to you. But you're going along to, um, Yow or Nathan or whoever, whoever the case may be, um, and just say, listen, they've, they've asked me to chime in.

• 12:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:35Speaker 00

  Do you, you're going to get permission, so to speak?

• 12:37Speaker 01

  Well, Yowie will throw, throw to me. I'll say, Yowie, I've got something here and we'll get the group together and he'll, he'll say what he needs to say.

• 12:42Speaker 00

  Okay, cool.

• 12:42Speaker 01

  Teddy, what about you? What do you reckon? And I'll say, might be, you know what I mean? So it's just that little communication between us of, I've got something here for the team. Um, or I'll speak if you want, like just that bit of communication between us and the leaders, that, that helps. That helps send a clear message.

• 12:56Speaker 00

  And do you, and then therefore do you learn from that then do the same in the Roosters?

• 13:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:00Speaker 00

  With Cherry Evans?

• 13:00Speaker 01

  Well, that's something we've, we've talked about at the Roosters, uh, uh, over the last few years, to be honest, Robbo will, um, we have a, a big leadership group. It consists of about six or seven players and Robbo spoke about that, about sharing the load and not just my, my voice is the only voice. So, um, if we get in a group together before training, after training for debriefing the session, I'll be like, Rads, what do you reckon for the middles? I mean, Chez, what do you reckon for that, for the spine, for the backs? So it's good to get those different messages from different voices.

• 13:28Speaker 00

  How much has Reece Robson added to the, to the process? And not just in terms of your own skill, but I mean, the know-how.

• 13:35Speaker 01

  He's a great, he's a great leader and a great talker.

• 13:37Speaker 00

  Is he?

• 13:37Speaker 01

  Communicates really well. Yeah. That's something that's probably.

• 13:39Speaker 00

  Cause he's right up front too, and you're right at the back. It's harder.

• 13:41Speaker 01

  He's in the thick of it. He's right in the middle.

• 13:43Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 13:43Speaker 01

  Working so hard. And, um, I think that was something we knew about Reece and he was a hard worker, you know, just a genuine dummy half of a great servant.

• 13:50Speaker 00

  Jake Friendstall.

• 13:51Speaker 01

  Exactly. But the way he just communicated, um, to the team was something that surprised me. He talks really well, uh, very clear. And I think us to have someone like that to hold it down the middle with him and Rads, those two are, are vital for us.

• 14:03Speaker 00

  Yeah. So I think when they're not there, there, there's a big difference in our, in our games.

• 14:09Speaker 00

  Best moment in, um, playing for the Roosters. Is it when, is it holding the trophy or it is?

• 14:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. Because you're working so hard for that one moment for 10, 11 months, you know what I mean? So from November the year before to that, uh, start of October, you're working to achieve that dream, achieve that goal of, of winning the premiership. And you're working with each other every day, every single day, pretty much to, to achieve that. And there's so much hard work, there's so much sacrifice. Um, yeah, there's so many hurdles you've got to overcome throughout the year. And then to achieve that with, you know, we become best mates. So that, that feeling can't be topped.

• 14:46Speaker 00

  Is there a better one out of all the grand finals you've won?

• 14:50Speaker 01

  No, I can't, I can't differentiate.

• 14:52Speaker 00

  What about the one where Cooper played?

• 14:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:55Speaker 00

  That, that meant that grand final, pretty unusual.

• 14:58Speaker 01

  That was probably our most perfect game we've played. I think Robbo said that.

• 15:02Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 15:02Speaker 01

  Um, it's Coops not really doing anything, but being more of a.

• 15:06Speaker 00

  Well, directing traffic.

• 15:07Speaker 01

  That's right. I mean, that was one thing we learned about Coops. He was like another coach on the field.

• 15:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 15:11Speaker 01

  He would direct us, his communication, he'd be so shocked to know in the details of what we need to do, what the opposition was doing. And just his voice was, you know, allowed me and Kes to go out and play. Um, and he was still doing that, um, when he had, he had his bum shoulder.

• 15:26Speaker 00

  More than bum was broken.

• 15:28Speaker 01

  And he was playing good, Rob was just sitting on the shore side, they were putting numbers there, then we could go and me and Kes was sort of playing on the open, which was, it turned out to be a great tactic.

• 15:35Speaker 00

  And Kes, of course, got the, the medal. So like, that was an amazing, uh, game from Kieran.

• 15:40Speaker 01

  Yeah. Well, he sort of stood up and did a lot of the kicking, a lot of the, Coops was there. As I said, he was like another coach, just his voice and him being there gave us confidence and belief. Um, but Kes definitely stepped up and did a lot more that, that Coops would usually do.

• 15:53Speaker 00

  The reason, I mean, I, I don't want this to sound like it's, um, you and me doing a Roosters, um, ad here, but like, um, but like, a lot of people don't know this, but like, maybe you could just explain what you observe at the Roosters in terms of the structure of the joint, like generally, we've got an academy, like bringing young players from, and look at Celeste for Keddie. Like, mate, like some of the stuff that's, well, uh, Nafahu White, like, miss, these guys coming through, no one had heard of them before.

• 16:19Speaker 01

  It's so well run. I mean, the club itself, um, from the academy to NRL to the juniors to NRLW, like just.

• 16:27Speaker 00

  Including NRLW, exactly.

• 16:28Speaker 01

  The, the, the whole organisation just went from the top, obviously unique, uh, the board, um, all the way down. That's, you know, the, the leadership and the, and the clarity from the, the guys up top flows down to the rest of the club. So that's, that's really clear. But the, the academy, what we've been able to, um, what all those been able to do, um, and friendly with, with the academy is, is amazing. These guys are coming in 17, 18 years of age. They're, they're learning from the best and learning from, from orbs, from friendly, from Boyd, Jared, like legends of the game. They're learning, um, you know, the principles of how to play for the Roosters, how to, how to train, the intensity you need to train at. And what I've, what I've noticed from all these young kids is there's no egos. I mean, they've obviously really talented, they've got all the skill.

• 17:11Speaker 01

  Um, but they don't have that ego of, you know, I, I can be anyone here. I'm the superstar. They, they work hard. And I think that's because of the influence of the guys like that, uh, who were coaching them and training them and then teaching them. And it's, you see guys like Celeste, Sfiketti, Seewa Wong, I think he was probably the first.

• 17:26Speaker 00

  Seewa, yeah.

• 17:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was the first one, Bobby Toya.

• 17:29Speaker 00

  Oh, Rob Toya.

• 17:30Speaker 01

  There's so many great players. I think that's a good thing in the Roosters. Everyone thinks we buy these superstars or look at our team.

• 17:36Speaker 00

  We used to, but not so much now.

• 17:37Speaker 01

  All of them have come through, uh, Roosters at a young age, whether through the academy or just under the young age. And they've just come through the system and a, and a superstar. And Nafahu is a great example. He came down with a few Kiwi boys, um, came over from New Zealand and, you know, he was raw. Obviously he was, it was talented, but he was very raw and very quiet. And, you know, you could see the potential. But over the last, you know, through the Roosters system, him learning under Robbo and different coaches, learning from leaders, he's turned into one of the best front runners in the game.

• 18:03Speaker 00

  Uh, if he's not best, he's second best.

• 18:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:05Speaker 00

  At the moment, in terms of value, he's amazing.

• 18:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:08Speaker 00

  I said to someone the other day, I think it might have said, I think you might have even been around. So I said to someone the other day and they agree with me, someone quite, um, influential, that James Tedesco will probably go down as the most valuable player the Roosters have ever had. Um, you know, we get, we've got a lot of.

• 18:27Speaker 01

  We've had some.

• 18:28Speaker 00

  We've had some pretty good names, um, but the most valuable in that you rarely get injured. You pretty much play every game. Um, when you do play, you, you, you, you don't have off weeks. You tend to, you've got an amazing engine and I want to talk to you about that. Where did that, does that come from? Even at your current age, which is, you know, at a senior, senior age in terms of rugby league, um, but your engine hasn't seen a stop. In fact, you, and you're doing, you know, you'll do a hit up every set if we're down on points and everyone needs a rest. I mean, like that, that's, that's what I mean by most valuable player in terms of contribution to the team, contribution to winning, contribution to grand finals, contribution to getting into the top eight, whatever the case may be, or just game by game.

• 19:11Speaker 00

  Um, you probably would go down as the most valuable player, certainly in terms of Jack Gibson medal. I don't think anyone's won the Jack Gibson medal as many times as you. I don't think so. And we've got some great players. I've already five times. I don't know. I think I've awarded you a couple of times, six or seven times. There you go. Um, do you have a thing about that?

• 19:28Speaker 01

  I think for me, what you're talking about is just consistency. I think that's, that's one thing I, I hold myself to. I don't, I feel I can have standout games, but I think my, my, like you said, my bad games aren't twos or threes, you know, the, the, the five or six or seven. So I think for me, that consistency comes down to my preparation, uh, my routine, which I'm, I'm pretty strict on every week and it has been. I probably learned that the hard way going through, um, those injuries at a young age and what I need to do to, to look after myself mentally and physically. And now I've had that routine for, for probably nearly 10 years. Um.

• 20:02Speaker 00

  What is that routine?

• 20:04Speaker 01

  Uh, well, physically it's, um, getting massage and treatment and stretches, uh, you know, a therapist comes to my house, my, I pull, I've been sending him for five, six years now. Before it was his father-in-law who treated me before that was the same. I'd see him twice a week and come to my house for two hours. An hour, hour and a half of massage, half an hour stretching. Uh, now that I've had these ankle injuries, we've been coming to my house pretty much every night just to treat it and, and stretch. But, um, I think those, those are things outside of footy to look after myself. I mean, the recovery, ice baths, saunas, that's something most players are doing now. I've got that at my house now, which I do pretty much every day, which.

• 20:41Speaker 00

  Were you doing that 10 years ago?

• 20:42Speaker 01

  No.

• 20:43Speaker 00

  No.

• 20:44Speaker 01

  And it's it's becoming more prevalent now. A lot of boys are doing it. It's becoming more more common and the game's getting faster. Guys are getting sore. So the recovery, guys doing recovery and finding their sources outside of footy is becoming more um consistent. But I've done it for a long, long time now and it's just part of my routine. I'll do it a couple of days after a game and I'll do it night before a game to my body prepped. And you know, I think this is the first time I've actually missed multiple games during injury and it's actually probably in ten years.

• 21:14Speaker 00

  What is injury?

• 21:15Speaker 01

  Um, so ankle injury. Yeah, it's a it's a bit of a funny one. I think I thought when I did it, I could just play through it, but it's an interosseous membrane, which is a different one. There's a tear in it, which is in between the two bones. So um they thought it was a synodismosis, which you know, synodismosis is your ligaments in your ankle and they tear.

• 21:33Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 21:34Speaker 01

  So I done that back in two thousand fourteen. And when they have, when you had surgery on it, and when you have surgery, they put a rope in your ankle. So the rope actually held my ligaments together. They didn't tear. But there's a tear up in my membrane, which is.

• 21:46Speaker 00

  On a weaker point.

• 21:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, which they thought could possibly play through. They never really seen it before. Usually when that happened, that's when the ligaments tear. So that's why it's been a bit funny being named every week, thinking I'm a chance to play. But every time I try and take off, there's a there's a sharp pain. And yeah, that's the physical part and the ment- the mental side, which is something, again, I started um in two thousand fifteen after I had those injuries was um talking to Joe Eby, who's my manager now. But back then, he was just my sort of mindset coach, person, probably. I don't know what his title is, but have you met Joe?

• 22:18Speaker 00

  Yeah, I know Joe. Yeah.

• 22:19Speaker 01

  So I talk to him weekly now.

• 22:21Speaker 00

  Oh, really?

• 22:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, and started with um getting my mindset clear.

• 22:26Speaker 00

  Oh, he he you actually have like a session?

• 22:29Speaker 01

  Yeah, we have sessions all the time. We still do it.

• 22:31Speaker 00

  About getting your mindset. So what does that mean? Like, he asks you questions?

• 22:34Speaker 01

  Well, from back then, there was a lot of doubt, a lot of anxiety about getting injured. So every game I was playing, I was dropping niggles. I had, you know, three or four surgeries in my first couple of years. So my body was, I had a lot of doubt on my body if I could get through games and and get through a whole career. Um, so that was, yeah, just trying to clear up my mind, not get rid of the worry. So I could go out and play. Um, and then weekly, it's just being clear on my role, playing my footy. And sometimes that's probably easy. I think it's pretty easy to do. But in this day and age, playing in our role every week, there's always pressures, stress, um, the opposition.

• 23:16Speaker 01

  There's always things you gotta, things that you're thinking about. And the main thing, the main objective for Joe is to cut out the thinking and just play. And so I have to keep working on that. Again, that's easier said than done. Um, a lot of it is around enjoyment, getting back to playing from your heart, not not overthinking, not in your head. And that's pretty easy to do in the game. Get in your head if an error happens, or you miss a tackle, or something happens that you didn't plan for, it's easy to go in your head and worry about it.

• 23:45Speaker 00

  Do you get noises like?

• 23:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, always.

• 23:47Speaker 00

  It's amazing. Like, I don't think anyone ever believed it, because here you're James Tedesco, like, who's, you know, Dalian winner last year, last year, wasn't it? Yeah. Like, at the end of his career, it's not the first time he won Dalian. But like, it's like, here we are, listening to you say that, you know, we have business people, we have all sorts of people listening to the show. Um, no one would ever think the way you play that you ever doubt yourself.

• 24:08Speaker 01

  Yep, it happens. And there's negative thoughts. I think that the difference is when you're getting those thoughts, about letting them go as quick as possible.

• 24:14Speaker 00

  Well, how do you let it go?

• 24:15Speaker 01

  Well, it's just simple, simple. It's just getting to your breathing, getting back into the moment.

• 24:19Speaker 00

  So a bit of meditation?

• 24:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, but in the game, it happens quickly. I've got to.

• 24:23Speaker 00

  Oh, you do that in the game?

• 24:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, just back to your breath, getting back to where my feet are, being present, and then going out and playing. So if I if I'm in error or something happens, I'm like, I'm disappointed in what happened. And this happens all throughout the game with different players. They might stay in that overthinking, thinking about what they just done. They might not be able to get out of that. There might be more errors, might be another more missed tackles. And that's because they're in the head.

• 24:51Speaker 00

  Because you've got to get back into the present.

• 24:52Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 24:53Speaker 00

  You've got to get right back to where you need to be.

• 24:55Speaker 01

  You can't change what just happened. And sometimes I'm judging like, what did that happen? I thought I was in the moment. I thought I was present and I made an error. But if I'm if I'm in my head judging that, then I'll miss the next moment. So it's all about, yeah, staying in the moment, staying present. And something we we actually had the theme for in Origin this year. And I felt like that was a great example of it in game one. Um, and if you remember, when Ponga went off, we made a break, I threw a terrible pass.

• 25:20Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 25:21Speaker 01

  We had a five on one, and we should have scored. And I was, I was like, I've just blew it. You know what I mean? We blew our chance to win. But I got back into my breathing, stay in the moment, stay present. Another opportunity will come up here. And then, you know, the dying second, they put the kick up, put myself in.

• 25:37Speaker 00

  Yeah, he stole the ball off.

• 25:38Speaker 01

  Obviously a bit of luck, but you know, I was in the moment and I was.

• 25:41Speaker 00

  You were there.

• 25:42Speaker 01

  Yeah, and came up with it. So I think that's a a great example. If I was, if I stayed in my head then and thought, I'm doing this, everyone's gonna hate me, it's gonna blow up, I would have missed that opportunity.

• 25:52Speaker 00

  Could you just go, can we just go to the moment then? Like, so how did you get yourself back into the moment? Like, what, like, did you know he was gonna kick it? Did you, does he signal to you? Or did you just give me, give me?

• 26:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, I said, yeah, pull it up, pull it up for me.

• 26:03Speaker 00

  I'm gonna get it. I'm gonna come through. Um, so but just prior to that, when you were sort of trying to readjust your thinking, what did you do? Take a few deep breaths?

• 26:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think just kept reminding myself to stay present. And then I think the best thing to stay out of your head is is communication.

• 26:18Speaker 00

  Talk to others?

• 26:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, talk to others to stay, stay within the moment, stay present with the boys around you. Because I think when you're thinking, you're quiet, you're in your head, and that's when you're losing that connection. So um definitely kept reminding myself, hey, stay present here, get into your breathing, look where you are, and then just go out and play. Don't overthink too much, go out and play.

• 26:37Speaker 00

  Did you communicate to anyone else other than Nathan for that kick?

• 26:39Speaker 01

  For that kick? No.

• 26:40Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 26:41Speaker 01

  No, that was just.

• 26:42Speaker 00

  Did you tell him to kick? Who'd you kick? They kicked.

• 26:45Speaker 01

  They kicked it more straight. It was, I just said, put it up for me, which I.

• 26:48Speaker 00

  You just said.

• 26:49Speaker 01

  I do, I do it regularly um during the year. I've had roosters, give me, give me a chance on the full back.

• 26:54Speaker 00

  It's not something, by the way, it's not luck, because you practice this stuff all the time.

• 26:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 26:57Speaker 00

  All the time in games. Well, I mean, you just, but you, you, you.

• 27:02Speaker 01

  I put myself in the position.

• 27:03Speaker 00

  You sort of, as I remember, it looked like you took the ball off him. Did you catch it or did he call it?

• 27:08Speaker 01

  No, it's sort of like, I went out for and got it, but it sort of bubbled on my, on my shoulder. And then as I turned, it sort of landed in my lap.

• 27:16Speaker 00

  Yeah, there'd be like there. But still, if you weren't there, and if you had to sort of let the other moment bother you, you wouldn't have got there in the first place. It's, it's, it's funny. And I was talking to Elvis, the golfer who won the um.

• 27:27Speaker 01

  Elvis Smollett.

• 27:28Speaker 00

  La, la, this year, I think it was this year. And he told me that when he gets nervous, golf's pretty hectic. And you've got to make this shot.

• 27:34Speaker 01

  A lot more, yeah.

• 27:35Speaker 00

  You know what he does? He um, he um touches his fingers like this, goes through a process where it actually takes your mind off the drama, or the the thought of missing the shot.

• 27:45Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:46Speaker 00

  And just like, just plays with his fingers like that. And it's actually meditative. And it's a, it's a moment of meditation, where he just does it. And it actually takes his, completely takes any weird thoughts away.

• 27:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:56Speaker 00

  Then he goes and does a shot.

• 27:57Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:58Speaker 00

  And of course he won.

• 27:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, that gets you thinking about that.

• 28:01Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah.

• 28:02Speaker 01

  Not overthinking.

• 28:02Speaker 00

  Do you do things like that? Like?

• 28:04Speaker 01

  I like to just feel my, like, pull my boots in the grass and feel that.

• 28:08Speaker 00

  Yeah, like, like actually in the grass. Yeah.

• 28:10Speaker 01

  Just like.

• 28:11Speaker 00

  But that's your, that's your, that's that touchy feeling. And I, I always want to ask, because I like our sorts of places, but do you have any superstitions before you play? I mean, do you put on a boot, left, right, right?

• 28:24Speaker 01

  No, no. I just like, night before, I always have steak and potato.

• 28:29Speaker 00

  Yeah, the night before, yeah.

• 28:31Speaker 01

  Yeah. And then I'll have a nap on game day. That's pretty much my own.

• 28:33Speaker 00

  During the day?

• 28:34Speaker 01

  That's only my box sticks. Yeah.

• 28:36Speaker 00

  And are you one of those um people that um have weird dreams? Like, so you left a boot behind at home? Ever? Forgot your mouth guard?

• 28:44Speaker 01

  No, no. I have forgotten my mouth guard a few times, which.

• 28:46Speaker 00

  You have you?

• 28:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:47Speaker 00

  When you played?

• 28:48Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:48Speaker 00

  Do you play without it?

• 28:49Speaker 01

  Um, yeah, I've got someone to go home and get it.

• 28:52Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah. Okay, you got the mouth guard. But like, because that'd be pretty stressful. Because I, because I'm wondering if you're going out there and you're not fully cocked, you know, you've got your probably your best boot, your lucky boots on, your right socks.

• 29:04Speaker 01

  I'm not, I'm not like, yeah.

• 29:05Speaker 00

  You're not obsessed?

• 29:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, not obsessed, not OCD. I need to do. I'm like, my prep's pretty routine. That's pretty the same. It doesn't really change much. But I think if I don't do exactly what I did last week, I'm not too caught up in it, you know?

• 29:19Speaker 00

  How important is your family to you in um in being properly prepared as as you get older?

• 29:25Speaker 01

  It's funny, because obviously, I met my wife when I was twenty seven. So I was really in, you know, the middle of my career and sort of been used to just being, being by myself and doing whatever I want to do to get ready for a game or get away from, you know, play golf and do do whatever I need to do. And then meeting my wife and then having kids, I realize I'm not, not gonna be selfish anymore. You know, I've got other priorities. Yeah, other priorities that are more important uh than myself. And I think obviously footy is so important to me. But I realized becoming a, becoming a dad, that um I feel like I've found a greater purpose. And that's to be the best dad I can be for the rest of my life. Because footy's gonna finish soon. Um, and you know, I'm gonna be a dad for.

• 30:04Speaker 00

  Hopefully not.

• 30:05Speaker 01

  Soon. We'll see. Yeah.

• 30:06Speaker 00

  Yeah. Well, I mean, you're, you're playing as good as you've ever played.

• 30:10Speaker 01

  Yeah. But I think being now, like, even taking my daughter on the field, like, that is, that's the best. And she knows what's going on now. She doesn't understand. Those are play footy and the roosters, the blues. Like, their memories are all cherished forever. And I used to, you know, just want to celebrate the boys. But now my family, um, yeah, love them so much. And I'm, I'm excited to share experiences with them.

• 30:30Speaker 00

  If I look at your preparation, we're talking about preparation, does a new layer of um?

• 30:39Speaker 00

  Need or um something sort of forcing you to prepare properly so that you can play properly. So you can be as good as you can be, but is there a new force relative to your family? Do you say, look, I've got to keep playing because I, you know, I've got to pay bills.

• 30:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:54Speaker 00

  I've got to, you know, I've got to have enough money in the bank or enough assets so that I can retire for the rest of my life. I know we're going to talk a bit later about what you're going to do post footy. But it does become a sort of an obligation. I've got to look after my family.

• 31:06Speaker 01

  Not, not, not financially, I think.

• 31:08Speaker 00

  No.

• 31:08Speaker 01

  I think I've um set myself up well um outside of footy. And I'm not, that doesn't really play on my mind too much about, I've, I've, I've, I feel like I've.

• 31:20Speaker 01

  My career's played out in a, in a great way financially and I'm, I'm happy with that. And for me, it's about balance now. If I feel like, like getting home, putting all my focus and concentration in the footy when I go to training, go to a game. But then coming home, all, all my time and attention needs to be with my kids and my wife. So when I find that balance is off and I'm thinking that footy too much at home, I'm not present. That's when I know I need to um sort of check myself a bit. Um but when footy finishes, whenever that is, I don't know when that'll be. Um I know I've gave it everything and my family will be proud. And that's, that's the main thing. All I can do is keep being a great role model for, for my kids. And um I know they'll always support me and love me no matter what I do.

• 32:00Speaker 00

  Do you surprise yourself about what you like as a family man?

• 32:05Speaker 01

  Well, uh.

• 32:05Speaker 00

  I mean, like, I mean, I, looking from the outside, I see, I mean, all our players are, but I see you. I mean, I've had the opportunity to see you and your wife and family. I mean, I've seen Jared Hargreaves, et cetera, as well, but you are a really dedicated parent and, and husband. Really dedicated.

• 32:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, that's what I grew up with, to be honest. My dad was, was like that with me. I think my dad grew up with his dad not being around at all. He was, he'd work seven days a week at the farm till he was, he worked till he was eighty, pretty much. So dad sort of grew up, not really seeing his dad too much. And I think um when I, when I was growing up, dad wanted to be present there for me. He'd take me to any sport I wanted to, he'd be at the, at the backyard kicking the footy with me. He'd just be there for me. And I think that's the Italian uh sort of side of very big on family. We go to my nonna's, we travel to ride every Sunday to be with my aunties, uncles, cousins, be around my family. And now we're married to Greek, she's got four brothers with all kids. And we do that every Sunday, we go to their house.

• 33:04Speaker 00

  Oh, really?

• 33:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, they live down the road, so it's, but we go there, we're with the cousins, it's my in-laws, brother-in-laws, uh and all my wife's family. So um it is, it is part of the culture, I think, for Greeks and Italians to be very family orientated. And um I'm very lucky, my man, my wife allows me to do what I do. She's the best mother. She, she allows me to be um, yeah, the, the rugby player I am. And, and the balance for me is doing that, but then coming home and being present and being.

• 33:35Speaker 00

  Being the husband and father that she would like to be.

• 33:37Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 33:37Speaker 00

  That's, that's pretty cool. Uh can I should, uh who's the toughest player you've ever had to play against?

• 33:46Speaker 01

  Play against? Um I've played against a lot.

• 33:51Speaker 00

  Physically tough, like someone, I'm like, I'm going to avoid running.

• 33:53Speaker 01

  Before I came to the Roosters, Jared, I was like scared of him.

• 33:58Speaker 01

  When I came to the Tigers, that Roosters thrash us every year and Jared would just be running to us. I'm like, God, this is, I thought he was the most terrifying man that I've met him. He's the nicest.

• 34:08Speaker 00

  Off field.

• 34:09Speaker 01

  Uh gentlest bloke ever.

• 34:10Speaker 00

  On field is a bit weird, but like he, he sort of goes at white, white eyes.

• 34:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, like off the field, I met him, I was like, wow, he just surprised me how much he, he, he turns into that just monster on the field. But off the field, he's so gentle and um and calm and a great dad as well, which is something I observed. Um and someone outside the Roosters, I mean, Burgess was always tough.

• 34:32Speaker 00

  Sam.

• 34:32Speaker 01

  Sam, yeah, he was always something.

• 34:34Speaker 00

  Would you, would you avoid him if you, if you, I mean, because, you know, if you had got the ball off, there's Burgess, I can go that way.

• 34:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, I don't like running, running, kick out at the moment, um probably someone like, he's on the edge, he gives the audio, he.

• 34:46Speaker 00

  He can hurt you.

• 34:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, he's a big boy.

• 34:48Speaker 00

  Yeah, uh and, and, and who was, who would you say is the best person you've ever played against? In terms of someone you don't want to tackle? I don't mean a, I don't mean a forward, I mean someone like, bloody hell, he's got the ball, he's going to be hard to get.

• 35:04Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, a forward actually is pretty funny, the Cowboys um played a couple of weeks ago when it was Tom Law's three hundreds. But I reckon, I remember two line breaks against the Tigers, Tom Law they went through once. First time, run straight over me, trying to tackle him, run straight over me, couldn't tackle him. This is prime Tom Law, by the way, it's no one can tackle him. And then I think the next year, he made another break about twenty eight, like, I'm gonna get, I'm gonna go low here and, you know, try and stop him. Next thing, just right footstep me clean, I was like, okay, I'm not sure what to do next. So, yeah, he was someone, uh I remember when he was in his prime, no, no one could stop him. And he's, he's still, he's still playing that, to be honest. But yeah, he's, I think another one, I mean, if I'm talking about speed wise, hammer, if he's in the, if he's in the open, he's, he's.

• 35:46Speaker 00

  That's scary.

• 35:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's scary.

• 35:48Speaker 00

  I, I remember I asked Alan, Paul Gallon, I said, who's the guy that you hate to have to tackle anytime with you?

• 35:55Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 35:55Speaker 00

  Yeah, he said Tedesco, he said really low to the ground and he said he could just step. He said like, he said like, he's like impossible to get like.

• 36:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, I don't know where I'm going half the time, to be honest, so I'm just trying to.

• 36:04Speaker 00

  Are you serious?

• 36:05Speaker 01

  Well, yeah, I think that's, that's been a big part of my game is, is tackle breaks.

• 36:09Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 36:09Speaker 01

  And going through the middle, uh it's something that I've probably.

• 36:13Speaker 00

  You play like a forward sometimes.

• 36:14Speaker 01

  Game on, yeah, so um when that, when the ruck gets quick and the forwards are getting tired, that's a, it's a green light for me to go and attack that.

• 36:21Speaker 00

  Now, you're, you're waiting for that, you're watching that?

• 36:23Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm feeling that.

• 36:24Speaker 00

  Yeah. Could you explain, I mean, I don't think a lot of people know that, and I didn't know that until, you know, the last couple of years. But the, the, the role of fullback is, is a massive defensive.

• 36:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:34Speaker 00

  Role in that, um and maybe explain how a fullback sort of controls the defensive line of your team.

• 36:40Speaker 01

  Well, Robbo's been instrumental in that.

• 36:42Speaker 00

  Yeah, that's one of his big things.

• 36:44Speaker 01

  It is, it is. We have meetings every week, um previewing a team, reviewing um how we're going to organise the line. So I'm in control of, of organising our defensive line, especially on the goal line, like that, that, that's on me.

• 36:56Speaker 00

  But is that because you can see the gaps? What is it?

• 36:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, I'm just, I'm, I'm not in the front line, I'm at the back.

• 37:01Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:01Speaker 01

  Um so I'm looking up and seeing what shape they have, um.

• 37:05Speaker 00

  Our shape or their shape?

• 37:06Speaker 01

  Their shape.

• 37:06Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 37:07Speaker 01

  Where they're, and but we'll review, we'll preview, hey, they're going to get to this spot on the field for a play, then they're going to play this play. So I'll, I'll have in the back of my mind the structure that they're, they're looking to run. That obviously changes, um you know, depending on offloads and.

• 37:21Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah.

• 37:21Speaker 01

  You know, beating a few tackles, um but I'll be clear during the week, hey, boys, they're going to get to this spot, they're going to play this play. Then I'm gonna, I'm gonna move the back row open to the open side and they're going to run this play. And I'll plug in here, that's a probably thing that's um evolved over the years is fullbacks getting in the line a lot more.

• 37:39Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:39Speaker 01

  Creating an extra defender and then you got the risk of the early kicks, so.

• 37:42Speaker 00

  I was going to say, like, how do you work out, should I step up or step, stay back?

• 37:46Speaker 01

  There's, it's again, preview of.

• 37:48Speaker 00

  But it's fluid.

• 37:49Speaker 01

  If I was playing Sam Walker, like, which we did in Origin, and I was like, okay, I've got to stay out of the line a bit more.

• 37:54Speaker 00

  Well, he did it to us, yeah.

• 37:55Speaker 01

  I learned from the first year.

• 37:56Speaker 00

  Well, he did it to you, actually.

• 37:58Speaker 01

  He did, he did. They did, no, that's on me, I'd ask when the line, I should have known.

• 38:02Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 38:02Speaker 01

  You know, Sammy Walker, that's what he looks for, so um.

• 38:05Speaker 00

  And he knows your game too, he knows.

• 38:07Speaker 01

  He does, yeah. He's always looking where the fullback is, that training, if I'm.

• 38:10Speaker 00

  Is he?

• 38:10Speaker 01

  A little bit out of position, he'll, he'll exploit, which he's done to most teams.

• 38:13Speaker 00

  He does it all the time, yeah, yeah.

• 38:14Speaker 01

  His career, uh but yeah, it's just more my communication. I, the boys are tackling, coming out of tackles, I need to be clear voice.

• 38:21Speaker 00

  But are you yelling at them like?

• 38:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 38:23Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 38:23Speaker 01

  Yelling at them.

• 38:23Speaker 00

  Because we can't hear, watch it, but I bet you're sort of.

• 38:26Speaker 01

  When they're in the tackle, I'm saying, see where I left, you know, far right.

• 38:29Speaker 00

  Similar, oh, really?

• 38:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, it needs to be that clear. It can't be, you can't be hesitant, you can't be, and, and that all takes, it's all quite quick when it happens. I'm looking up, seeing the shape they have, where do we need the numbers? Okay, the tackle's being made, the boys are coming out, I need to direct them, and that takes, takes time.

• 38:45Speaker 00

  And if you see a gap between, like, as I understand, there's a, we'd like to keep so many metres between each other.

• 38:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 38:52Speaker 00

  If you see the gap, you, you, you'll see where I slide, right?

• 38:57Speaker 01

  The boys will know that the spacing's pretty well, they'll come out of tackle.

• 39:00Speaker 00

  Spacing.

• 39:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, I've got to tell them the direction and then it's on to the, it's on the boys around them to sort of adjust and move out. So I'm, I'm not really not in charge of their spacings, I'm more telling them the direction and, and I give them a heads up of what's, what's coming at them. And then I've got to move as well, I've got to move, you know, towards the winger at the back of the line to try, try saving opportunities and, or for early kicks as well.

• 39:23Speaker 00

  It's not a secret that um we're one of the worst at holding the ball and making mistakes statistically.

• 39:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:30Speaker 00

  Well, what I thought was very interesting that uh um I noticed when I was doing a check about it. And one of the things I found very interesting was that um you can't stop people from making mistakes. I mean, that's, but what you can do is make sure that they, how they respond when they do make a mistake.

• 39:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:47Speaker 00

  And uh especially with the six again.

• 39:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:49Speaker 00

  Can you explain what Robbo means and what Chek was talking about in relation to how your mindset in terms of response?

• 39:55Speaker 01

  We, we've had obviously issues there, as I said, probably since I've got to the club and we're not like. We don't say, don't drop the ball or don't play, because we want to encourage us to play.

• 40:06Speaker 00

  Ball and play.

• 40:07Speaker 01

  Yeah, we want us to to play footy, you know, just tuck it on the wing and complete a set.

• 40:10Speaker 00

  Yeah, we're not Melbourne.

• 40:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:12Speaker 00

  Well, yeah, I'm serious, like.

• 40:14Speaker 01

  Teams do that, teams do that, sure, to complete. And I think what's hurt us in the past is, you know, we wanted to be perfect, wanted to be perfect, but mistakes are gonna happen. You're gonna, a drop ball's gonna happen.

• 40:25Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 40:26Speaker 01

  That's just part of the game.

• 40:27Speaker 00

  Especially with fatigue.

• 40:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, both teams, I don't think both teams have ever gone a hundred percent completions. So errors are gonna happen, but then, yeah, how do we react to that?

• 40:34Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 40:34Speaker 01

  And we train that all the time, you know, if it happens to train, okay, we've got to defend the set. So, and I think how the game is at the moment, it was at the start of the year was six against. You've got to score off six against, because you're getting more ball, you're getting opportunities. I think now it's gone to towards the end of the year, if you can defend those six against, and that's gonna put you in a in a good spot to win the game. I think that's something we've um trained really well. We've had six, just continuous six against us on our goal line, we've we've trained that.

• 40:59Speaker 00

  But the game against Penrith was amazing, like in the first half.

• 41:02Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 41:03Speaker 00

  They got, there was pressure on the try line.

• 41:05Speaker 01

  We have, yeah, that was probably one of our best defensive games against top side like.

• 41:08Speaker 00

  Yeah, and then, and I, I think you're frustrated, you're frustrated. Can you see if they're getting frustrated?

• 41:13Speaker 01

  Can you? When you turn, when you keep turning them away, of course, that frustrates you.

• 41:17Speaker 00

  You can see it on the field, though, can you sense it?

• 41:19Speaker 01

  When you're on the other side of it, you know, if we're attacking the line, we can't score, we can't score, it's deflating.

• 41:23Speaker 00

  We have been through those places in the past.

• 41:25Speaker 01

  Definitely, so we, I think you understand that feeling, but then for us, it's about, okay, defend our, defend our line. Get the ball back, but now it's about completing a set, kicking it back to them, because if you don't do that, then back on our goal line again, so. It's something that we've, we've trained Robbo's, that's a good thing with Robbo, he's, he identifies so many things in the game, little details. Uh, little improvements, how we can get better, and that's a big part of his defending a goal line. And working a set out, completing and getting back into the defensive set, that's gonna go a long way to winning the game.

• 41:55Speaker 00

  You've done just about everything in rugby league, we have, um, you've won grand finals, you play for the country, you've captained your country, you've captained your state, you've won state of origin series, you've won Dalian medals. You've won everything at the club level that there is to win. What's the next chapter post footy look like for James Deskes, because I went out recently to something that your family in laws, um, have in, uh, uh, have a feel, Belmore, that's right, Belmore is right.

• 42:25Speaker 01

  Fancy, yeah.

• 42:25Speaker 00

  And, uh, well, mate, one of your brothers-in-law told me what happens if you ever put a foot wrong, he told me what he told you.

• 42:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:33Speaker 00

  And they're all big too.

• 42:34Speaker 01

  They are, they are.

• 42:35Speaker 00

  They're all giants, her family are.

• 42:37Speaker 01

  All four older brothers.

• 42:38Speaker 00

  All big, big dudes.

• 42:39Speaker 01

  I'm against it from the start.

• 42:40Speaker 00

  Yeah, but I can just see him sort of taking an arm each and a leg each, if anything ever goes wrong. But, um, yeah, but maybe you just explain what your um family-in-law do, because I met your father-in-law.

• 42:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:53Speaker 00

  He's such a nice, cool old Greek guy, and working hard, like, it was a Saturday and uh he was just chomping at the bit to serve all the customers. In fact, I wanted to interview him and I had to wait until he served everybody, like you're saying, like, hang in there, hang in there, like, uh. So, explain what they do, what are you gonna do, what are they doing, what have you bought into more recently, you've been involved in?

• 43:13Speaker 01

  He is my father-in-law, um, he's always been hospitality business for a long time now, since he um come over from Greece, he's always been a hard-working businessman, um, had different businesses, restaurants, cafes, he's got a poultry, a Y C C poultry business wholesale, which is still going, um, he's got a cafe at Ironwood. So now, you know, through the boys growing up, Maria's four older brothers, they've, you know, followed these footsteps, they've got cafes of their own. Um, restaurants, and now the opportunity to take over uh this butcher, um, Supreme's Lucky, which is in Belmore, which is where he came to. That, that's been there for thirty, forty years, and we've, uh, it's been a well-established business, a lot of people, once, uh, once we took it over

• 43:57Speaker 01

  two years ago, Ange bought the business, I posted about it, everyone's like, oh, I'll go there to get my meat, I didn't even know, it's in Belmore, it's not really close to us, but um, it's a well-established Greek meat butcher, um, and the owner wanted to sell, he knew Ange, my father-in-law, and said, do you want to buy it? And Ange said yes, so then we're all sort of involved in that. Um, again, I don't know the ins and outs, I'm not, I'm in the group chat, they're talking about sales and um orders, and I'm just, I don't really know about all that, but.

• 44:26Speaker 00

  But are you learning?

• 44:27Speaker 01

  I'm learning, I'm trying to learn.

• 44:28Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:29Speaker 01

  Um, but they're sort of, yeah, taking me through the ins and outs of the business, and now we're trying, we're just trying to expand the name now, so Supreme, so Lucky are trying to build that, we're opening another one in Ashfield, uh.

• 44:40Speaker 00

  Are you?

• 44:40Speaker 01

  The year, yeah.

• 44:41Speaker 00

  Oh, cool.

• 44:41Speaker 01

  But the one you came to, um.

• 44:43Speaker 00

  But you own two there, because.

• 44:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's um Supreme Poultry, which is chicken, so that's just a chicken butcher.

• 44:49Speaker 00

  Like two down?

• 44:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, so it meets, it meets all the, you know, lamb, uh.

• 44:54Speaker 00

  Beef, et cetera.

• 44:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:54Speaker 00

  Yeah, well, that's a proper butcher.

• 44:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:56Speaker 00

  With a lot of sort of like, yeah.

• 44:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, and all Greek, you know, you got your halumi eggs.

• 45:01Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah.

• 45:02Speaker 01

  And olives, all that, all that stuff as well, which.

• 45:04Speaker 00

  Sort of like a Greek provado.

• 45:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, and then we got, yeah, the chicken shop, which is down, down the road, two sores down.

• 45:09Speaker 00

  Because when I got there, I thought, oh my God, they've opened up next door to a competitor, because I saw, I saw chickens with like it, and I thought. And then, but then your brother-in-law told me that you own both.

• 45:20Speaker 01

  Well, that was part, because before there was a butcher there.

• 45:22Speaker 00

  Right.

• 45:23Speaker 01

  So it was more, it was an opportunity to.

• 45:25Speaker 00

  Take your competitor out.

• 45:26Speaker 01

  Take your competitor out and open a different business for chickens, so.

• 45:29Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 45:30Speaker 01

  That's the way Ange, you know, my father-in-law thinks.

• 45:32Speaker 00

  Ange hasn't been Angela, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 45:35Speaker 01

  So he's on top of it, you know what I mean, so.

• 45:37Speaker 00

  Yeah, and so, but how do you feel about learning about a completely new industry?

• 45:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's hard, I mean, I haven't fully dived in yet, because I'm still, all my, you know, focus is on footy, but I'm slowly learning. Every time I go over for their Sunday dinners, that's all they're talking about business, so I'm trying to learn and listen and um, get more education and all, and instead of opening up another one in Ashfield, hopefully we can keep opening new ones, even out to Camden, out that way, closer to.

• 46:06Speaker 00

  Where you come from.

• 46:06Speaker 01

  And my, yeah, my growing up, so.

• 46:08Speaker 00

  So that's, that's the dream, or the vision, open more.

• 46:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, for sure, take it, take it online, um, you know, at the moment, it's just sort of gonna go to Belmore to get it, so we're trying to if we can expand and hopefully have online orders and delivery and make it more easier for people to get, that's, that's the goal.

• 46:24Speaker 00

  And Belmore being in the Camry Bankstown, the Bulldogs territory, uh, how, how do you feel about being there? Because I said to them, um, I said, one of your brother-in-laws anyway, I said to him, uh, who was the guy, which brother-in-law was cooking?

• 46:35Speaker 01

  Stephen, yeah.

• 46:36Speaker 00

  So he, uh, he was cooking, and they were actually, but I have to say, the food was really tasty, I mean, really, seriously delicious. Um, and uh, and it's amazing how you can make a little bit of chicken or a bit of lamb or a little bit of beef, taste, simply make it so tasty, a bit of lemon juice, some herbs. That's it, and you cook, the way you cook it, but like, uh, it's pretty amazing, um. I said to him, uh, uh, how's Teddy going learning, uh, you know, how's he, what's the, what's the process like? And he said, like, he's, he's doing very well, like, he didn't say that you guys all get together on a Sunday and sort of talk about the business. But he actually sort of indicated to me that you're quite, quite a good learner, like, you're keen to learn, like, it seems to me seems to me that, like, if you apply the same process to your, that you apply to your footy.

• 47:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:21Speaker 00

  Day to day.

• 47:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:23Speaker 00

  To being involved in the business.

• 47:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:25Speaker 00

  You'd be good at it. Can you see yourself standing there with a butcher outfit on?

• 47:28Speaker 01

  Maybe not that far, maybe not that far, but, uh, I do, I feel like that's with everything I do, I'm trying to be the best at it.

• 47:36Speaker 00

  All in, all in.

• 47:36Speaker 01

  Trying to be the best at it.

• 47:37Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 47:37Speaker 01

  And that started from footy, um, and with most things I do, everyone I go out, after, um, thinking about after footy, going to you know, media or, or coaching, like, I want to go all in with it, I'm not just gonna do it half-assed, I think that's something it's been ingrained in me from a young age, from my dad, probably the Italian hard-working mindset, and, you know, I see my father-in-law. He's hard-working, he's not sitting back relaxing, he's, he's up every morning, going to work till three, four in the arvo, and I think that's just something I've, I've been around and something I admire and something that I want to keep continuing on for whatever I do after footy.

• 48:13Speaker 00

  You know, it's really interesting, you said something before about consistency, um, and

• 48:19Speaker 00

  I remember, and I still do it, I have a, I don't carry it around much anymore, but when I was younger, there weren't any, any phones, and you used to, I used to carry a diary around in a, in a black leather ba, um, casing. It was, it wasn't that big, and it was a zipper on it, and inside the zipper, there was a, my, the person who had a lot of influence on me when I was a younger guy, when I worked in law firm, he was senior partner, he gave me a piece of paper, and he said, the piece of paper said

• 48:47Speaker 00

  consistency always outruns talent. Unrewarded talent is almost a proverb. Do you think, I mean, you're obviously talented, but let's say you're no more talented than any other player out there.

• 49:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 49:00Speaker 00

  In your, in your position.

• 49:02Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 49:03Speaker 00

  Do you think consistency has been your superpower?

• 49:06Speaker 01

  I think so. I think I look at some of the other fullbacks or other players and they've got more talent than me. But something that I've talked about for my routine and my preparation, my, I guess, inner desire to be the best. That's something that's, that's put me above the pack, I think.

• 49:27Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 49:28Speaker 01

  That mindset of I've never been satisfied. I'm always looking to

• 49:32Speaker 00

  Improve.

• 49:33Speaker 01

  Get better. What can I do? What extras can I work on? Um, and I, cause I've never, as a kid, I never got told I'm the best, you know, I was never a superstar. I didn't make teams.

• 49:43Speaker 00

  Did you play, did you play SG ball and that sort of thing?

• 49:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, like, I think how maths, I was picked last. I was sort of on the bench and ended up playing fullback SG ball. I started on the wing. Uh, one year and I ended up getting a fullback. And then, so I've never really been the superstar, especially.

• 49:58Speaker 00

  Not first, not first chosen.

• 49:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. Even Australian schoolboys, I got picked from the schoolboys, but I was bench winger. I played two, we had a tour in England. I played two games on the wing. So I think I've always, my dad just says it, like, if someone told me I can't do it, that would motivate me to go and do it. And I think I've probably been used to that growing up and I've had that motivation to prove people wrong. And I'm past that now. I think that's what motivated me for a long time, younger in my career. Especially coming to first grade and body, he's, his body's not up for it and he's not good enough.

• 50:30Speaker 00

  I'll prove him wrong.

• 50:30Speaker 01

  Yeah. And so I guess that, that inner desire of, of getting better and being the best has never left me. I feel like when that does start to fade, I'll be like, okay, I'm thinking, I'm, you know, thinking about finishing footy. But it's still there, still there at thirty three. It's still the desire to, to be the best player and, and that's what motivates me.

• 50:49Speaker 00

  Even, and when I think about that saying that the guy told me, um, just, I mean, I know, you probably know kids at school. Who are, or kids in your district or wherever, who are unbelievably talented, but they didn't stick with it.

• 51:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 51:03Speaker 00

  And they never got it anyway.

• 51:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 51:05Speaker 00

  Whether they was as a student or basketball or rugby league player, soccer player, they're not, they never did anything with it.

• 51:11Speaker 01

  That's something I'd encourage these young guys coming through, whether it's NRL, whatever sport they want to do, like go all in with it.

• 51:17Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 51:17Speaker 01

  Be half assed with it and think, you know, I've got the talent. I'll, you know, I'll be right.

• 51:21Speaker 00

  I'll guide you. Yeah.

• 51:22Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? Like work hard. That's the first thing. You've got the talent, but you're gonna, are you gonna work hard? Are you gonna make sacrifices away from training or away from your sport? That's gonna help you be at your best. Are you gonna look after yourself? Are you gonna eat the right stuff? And I'll probably learn all this the, the hard way as well.

• 51:36Speaker 00

  By making mistakes.

• 51:37Speaker 01

  Yeah. I come in the first grade, had these injuries. I'm like, well, I'm going to train and I'm stretching. Surely that's sweet. I'm, I'm not really, I'm going to sleep at a decent hour. I mean, all right. Wasn't strict on it. Wasn't, um, really aware of how, how, how good it needs to be. And then once I went through those injuries and went, what do I, what changes do I need to make to really fulfill my career here and get the best out of myself. And, um, going through those tough years early in my career made me realize, okay. I need to, I need to really knuckle down this stuff.

• 52:05Speaker 00

  Was there anybody that inspired you who were players who sort of, I remember Minnie who was, you know, you're on the same side.

• 52:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:12Speaker 00

  Um, but you were playing out in the wing, but, um, Minnie, remember he went through those terrible injuries. Like he's a bit similar to you in that regard.

• 52:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 52:20Speaker 00

  Unbelievably serious about doing everything properly.

• 52:23Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah. Well, Minnie's one of, yeah, I played with him in two thousand and thirteen. I remember he, he had his back issues and we, we on the bus going to training, whatever. He couldn't sit down. He had to stand up to

• 52:33Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 52:33Speaker 01

  Took last three's back. Um, but I remember someone like me at nineteen, watching Minnie, how he went about his business, how professional he was, even in a, in a world cup really, you know, it's not the,

• 52:44Speaker 01

  we're not going to win the world cup, but he's still very fresh on the way he prepared, the way he, um, he led us as a captain was something I, I really took a lot from, from that, from that world cup.

• 52:54Speaker 00

  Teddy, um, we've got the, we're at the sharp end of the season now. I mean, apart from us, apart from the Roosters, who's the, who's the ping side? Is it Auckland? Is it Dolphins? What are, what are we looking at?

• 53:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 53:07Speaker 00

  Penrith, I mean.

• 53:08Speaker 01

  I think, yeah, I think they're at the top. I think Warriors, um, are dangerous. They're playing a really good, good brand of footy and they seem really clear on, on how they play footy. And they've had, they got a couple of injuries as well. The last thing is about this Tommy answer final, it's like.

• 53:22Speaker 00

  Yeah, injuries.

• 53:23Speaker 01

  Need to be healthy. You need to be healthy to go. You need a bit of luck to go your way. So that's going to be important for us, I'm touched wood. So we're all healthy. Um, and Dolphins are dangerous. Dolphins are dan-, Dolphins and Sharks are dangerous on their day. Again, Trinell's out for Sharks. I don't know when he's going to be back, but he's a, he's a big part of their team. I do feel like, and it's been really even this year in terms of any team can beat anyone on their day.

• 53:46Speaker 00

  Especially those names, those names you just mentioned.

• 53:48Speaker 01

  Yeah. But I do think we're in a good place for sure.

• 53:51Speaker 00

  I mean, it must be hard though, to keep a, a strong mindset.

• 53:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 53:55Speaker 00

  Uh, like, let's call it, I think maybe five weeks or six weeks.

• 53:58Speaker 01

  Six weeks.

• 53:58Speaker 00

  Um, yeah. So like, is that a hard thing to do?

• 54:03Speaker 01

  I think for us, experienced guys, it's, it's, it's not because we've been through this before and we understand what it takes and, um, the opportunity that we have. For the younger guys, it can be a challenge, I feel. I'm, I'm thinking back to two thousand and eighteen when, you know, we, my first year at the Roosters, in the grand finals, I was living with Victor Radley.

• 54:22Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 54:22Speaker 01

  And we're just like, how good's this? We just didn't, weren't phased by it at all. Just like, you know, when, you know, we got the minor premiership.

• 54:28Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 54:28Speaker 01

  Oh, one, two finals, we're in the grand final. It was just like, we're just taking it as it comes. And we didn't, and looking back, there were some great times, me and Raj just living together, just enjoying what was, what was coming. So I think that sort of, um, young inexperience can be, can be a great thing.

• 54:43Speaker 00

  Naivety.

• 54:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's right.

• 54:44Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 54:45Speaker 01

  And then the leaders can carry through. Obviously we had some great leaders at the time. Um, and that's, I think that's on me now and the, the older guys to bring these young guys with us, but also don't let them get, get stressed about it. Just go out and enjoy. And that's in, because it's a great opportunity for us. And I think back in two thousand and eighteen and nineteen, I was like, oh, this is, this is, it's going to happen every year for us, you know, but now we haven't been to a grand final in, you know, six years. It is hard. It's bloody hard to get there. It's hard to win. So we've got a great opportunity. Let's make sure we go all in with it and take it one week at a time.

• 55:19Speaker 00

  Mate, I, I really appreciate you coming in and having a, and being honest and having an open chat. And, uh, and what I want to say, and I, I think I'm pretty much, um, I think it's fair to say that on behalf of everybody who's a James Tedesco fan, of which I'm one, um, good luck with your post footy career, whenever that happens to be. Um, and, uh, and, uh, then I'm talking about, uh, supreme souvlakiya. Supreme souvlakiya. And by the way, Belmore actually is, there are a lot of Greeks around Belmore because there's a church, Greek church there. That happens to be where I grew up. It's where I grew up and, uh, and, uh, the souvlakiya is fantastic. And James Tedesco, legend. And, uh, he'll be there with an apron and, uh, serving you whenever you're ready.

• 55:59Speaker 01

  Come down and see me.

• 56:00Speaker 00

  See you guys. Thank you.

• 56:02Speaker 01

  Thanks, mate. Cheers.