New details emerge about James Tedesco amid retirement fears for NRL star after concussion
The Blues fullback is believed to have suffered the 10th concussion of his career.
James Tedesco has already started his recovery and will be ready to return soon, with coach Trent Robinson revealing new details about the club's knowledge and learnings about concussion. Tedesco was left knocked out cold last Friday night after he attempted to tackle Viliame Kikau into touch.
The fullback went for the legs of Kikau, but got his head in the wrong position as he tried to bundle the forward out of play. There was immediate concern for Tedesco as he was escorted off the field and he took no further part in the game.
The concussion is believed to be the 10th of his glittering career and started conversations around his long-term future in the game. Tedesco will enter the 11-day stand down period for the Roosters and will miss the next game against the Knights on Thursday. However, there is no timeline on Tedesco's return and it could see him ruled out for longer.
The 31-year-old spoke out about his head knock earlier this week having claimed he has pulled up fine from the injury and is resting. However, this hasn't allayed fears within the NRL community around his 10th concussion.
The Roosters have historically been cautious when it comes to concussions, with former captain Boyd Cordner retiring in 2021 after repeated head injuries. And ahead of the 2024 season, the Roosters sent their medical staff to Pittsburgh to learn more about concussions.
Trent Robinson's new revelation about concussion learnings
And Robinson is confident the team are better equipped to understand Tedesco's injury more than ever. "We feel like we're in a really good spot compared to where a lot of judgment has been in the last few years," he said. "We're more advanced to look after our players. And within that, Ted's been in a really good space.
"The day after the game he was really clear on conversations he had with the referee ... and different discussions before he went off. So that memory was quite clear. It is definitely symptoms-based, and he's on the right track there."
Robinson was confident his staff were in the best position to help Tedesco and future players when it comes to concussions and recovering from head knocks. "We've probably learned more in the last year around concussions than any other time," he said.
"A lot of people see concussion as one thing. We've done a lot of research. If you hurt your leg, people will start saying 'Well, what did you hurt? Did you hurt your knee? Did you hurt your hammy?'
"When people ask about did you get concussion, there's no more questions, where it's a little bit deeper than that. There's different types of concussions. And then there's different treatments to that from what we've learned, so that's been a real benefit for us."
James Tedesco urged to change tackling technique
Discussing his incident on the Nine's The Sunday Footy Show legends Billy Slater and Andrew Johns discussed Tedesco's tackling technique after it was confirmed he would miss the Roosters' clash with the Knights on Thursday. And Johns believes most of his head knocks come down to poor technique.
"He takes his eyes off the target," he said on the show. "You've got to keep your chin on your chest but you've still got to keep your eye on the target. Teddy (Tedesco) gets into this situation with his last two steps as he drops his head.
"If you're going to make that tackle you need to keep your chin on your chest and keep your eye on your target — where you're going to hit. He drops his head and loses his technique." Champion fullback Slater claimed Tedesco was slightly late getting across for the tackle and said he wasn't able to steady himself. This can result in getting your head in the wrong position.
