James Tedesco

James Tedesco (born 8 January 1993), nicknamed "Teddy", is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a fullback for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League. A former Australia and New South Wales captain, Tedesco has been rated in the top 5 of the best rugby league fullbacks of all time. He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League. Tedesco was fullback for the Roosters teams that won the 2018 NRL Grand Final, 2019 NRL Grand Final, 2019 World Club Challenge and the 2020 World Club Challenge. Tedesco initially played for Italy at international level as a centre, fullback and five-eighth from 2013 to 2017 before playing for Australia in 2018 at fullback and captaining the 2022 Rugby League World Cup win. Tedesco played for New South Wales in the State of Origin series from 2016 to 2024, and captained the side from Game 2 2020 to Game 3 2023. He has played at representative level for the Prime Minister's XIII and played both fullback and wing for New South Wales City.