James Tedesco knew within a few training sessions with a teenage Ryan Papenhuyzen that the young fullback was going to become an NRL gun. Struck by his pace and skill, Tedesco got an early glimpse in 2017 of the man who now looms as his closest rival for the mantle of rugby league's best No.1. The pair will provide the headline clash of the round when their teams clash on Saturday night, even though each has swatted away talk of wanting to outdo the other. But it's easy to forget they were once Wests Tigers clubmates. Stuck behind Tedesco and not seeing a path forward at Concord while in under-20s, Papenhuyzen made the call in early 2017 to head to Melbourne and wait for life after Billy Slater. It proved a double blow for the Tigers, with Tedesco making his own call to leave for the Sydney Roosters shortly after, going on to win two premierships there. While Papenhuyzen had wait until 2019 to get his chance in the NRL, Tedesco never forgot his talent. "He was a gun. He was very talented, very fast," Tedesco said. "He only had a couple of sessions he was pretty young but he was coming through. "He's turned into a classy fullback. He was always fast, always talented. "But I think his development down there with the Melbourne structures and Billy (Slater) has been good for him."
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