James Tedesco in worrying concussion outcome amid 'brutal' NRL defeat to Bulldogs

James Tedesco could be set for a period on the sidelines after a sickening collision with Viliame Kikau left the Roosters fullback out cold in his team's defeat to the Bulldogs. The Roosters and the Bulldogs put on a bruising NRL encounter in the rain on Friday night with four players not returning after failing HIA protocols.

Blake Taafe, Tedesco, Sam Walker and Harrison Edwards were all out of the game with both teams activating the 18th man rule in the pouring rain. Worryingly, Tedesco was left out cold on the turf after a sickening tackle with Kikau.

The Bulldogs second-rower was steaming down the sideline when Tedesco raced across and put his body on the line to try and stop the much bigger man. Tedesco went for the legs of Kikau, but got his head in the wrong position as he tried to bundle the forward out of touch.

Unfortunately, Tedesco bounced off the big man and was left out cold on the floor. There was immediate concern for Tedesco as he lay motionless on the floor. And according to NRL Physio Brien Seeney, this marks the 10th time Tedesco has been ruled out through concussion. Tedesco will enter the 11-day stand down period for the Roosters and will miss the next game.

However, Tedesco and the Roosters will be looking to make sure the captain is fine both on and off the field with previous leader Boyd Cordner announcing his retirement from the NRL after successive concussions in 2021. Cordner's retirement rocked the sport and fans have rallied around Tedesco following another scary moment for the Blues No.1.

Luke Keary blasts Roosters over poor performance

The Roosters were woeful in the first-half against the Bulldogs as they trailed 26-0. Despite missing Dominic Young after he was sent straight off for a high-shot, the Roosters stormed back and nearly produced one of the great comebacks in torrential rain.

However, the Bulldogs scored just the single try in the second-half to secure the victory. And Luke Keary was critical of his team's performance having suffered their second straight loss.

“It’s pretty embarrassing to be honest... we shouldn’t have been there,” Keary said. “We’re pretty embarrassed and disappointed by our effort. To turn up like that as a playing group is not good enough. To turn up at this time of the year, it’s not good enough. We just need to have a good look at ourselves. We need to sit down and look at each other and figure it out quickly.”

Roosters coach Trent Robinson was livid with some of the referee calls in the loss and claimed Young shouldn't have been given his marching orders. “He hit him in the jaw... but it was open-handed, it was lower than shoulder height,” he said.

“If that’s the standard that’s fine, but that’s a new one for me. I feel like that’s lower than what’s been sent off before. It just feels like we can set a new standard here again. We’ve had guys not even go for 10 for less. I feel like that was a bit over the top. There’ll be a lot more send offs in our game, there should be, if that’s the case.”