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Inside story on how Tedesco nearly signed with Bulldogs
Author
Michael Chammas Chief Reporter
All the lights were off. It was almost 10pm at Belmore Sportsground in March last year.
Des Hasler had gone home for the night, not a player or staff member in sight.
Then James Tedesco and Aaron Woods, who will square off against each other for their respective new clubs on Friday night, drove into the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' headquarters.
Former chairman Ray Dib was waiting to give them and their manager Isaac Moses a secret tour of the club's facilities. Even the then chief executive, Raelene Castle, was unaware. The coach was unaware.
They walked into the cold and dark Belmore dressing rooms, where only a few hours earlier the Bulldogs players had finished for the day.
There were two Bulldogs jerseys hanging from the ceiling.
One with "Woods" on the back. The other, "Tedesco".
Mitchell Moses wasn't there that night, but the intention was that in the coming weeks, all three would sign on the dotted line for the Bulldogs.
"I love playing with Mitch," Tedesco told NRL.com.
"He's one of my best mates. I wanted to play footy with him."
So after their confidential meeting in the eerie silence of a vacant Belmore Sportsground, the chairman organised for Tedesco and Woods to meet Hasler.
For Woods, a prop, the question of who was to wear the No.7 jersey wasn't as vital in his decision making as it was to a fullback like Tedesco.
He wanted to know. And he wanted to know if it could be Moses.
A few statements about his defence and it became apparent to Tedesco that Moses wasn't in the coach's plans.
That was all but the end of Tedesco's interest and the end of the chairman's hopes of landing the trio in a multimillion-dollar package deal.
They wanted the three of them. In the end, they got one, and Kieran Foran's signature would follow in the coming months.
"The Bulldogs were an option for me," Tedesco said.
"And the Roosters were an option for me. But at the end of the day, I thought Roosters were the best fit for me.
"Speaking to Robbo (coach Trent Robinson) and Mini (Anthony Minichiello) as well, he was a big factor for me to benefit my game. At the end of the day, the Roosters were the best option for me and that's why I chose here."
Tedesco won't be the only one in the Roosters team at Allianz Stadium on Friday night that could have been a Bulldog.
It turns out centre Latrell Mitchell also trialled with the club as a 16-year-old.
Apparently, he wasn't good enough. He never received a phone call back after being invited down to trial by then recruitment manager Noel Cleal.
Talk about the ones that got away.
I know, it's old news, it just rubs it in what a germ hasler was and fucking dib for allowing it.
Author
Michael Chammas Chief Reporter
All the lights were off. It was almost 10pm at Belmore Sportsground in March last year.
Des Hasler had gone home for the night, not a player or staff member in sight.
Then James Tedesco and Aaron Woods, who will square off against each other for their respective new clubs on Friday night, drove into the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' headquarters.
Former chairman Ray Dib was waiting to give them and their manager Isaac Moses a secret tour of the club's facilities. Even the then chief executive, Raelene Castle, was unaware. The coach was unaware.
They walked into the cold and dark Belmore dressing rooms, where only a few hours earlier the Bulldogs players had finished for the day.
There were two Bulldogs jerseys hanging from the ceiling.
One with "Woods" on the back. The other, "Tedesco".
Mitchell Moses wasn't there that night, but the intention was that in the coming weeks, all three would sign on the dotted line for the Bulldogs.
"I love playing with Mitch," Tedesco told NRL.com.
"He's one of my best mates. I wanted to play footy with him."
So after their confidential meeting in the eerie silence of a vacant Belmore Sportsground, the chairman organised for Tedesco and Woods to meet Hasler.
For Woods, a prop, the question of who was to wear the No.7 jersey wasn't as vital in his decision making as it was to a fullback like Tedesco.
He wanted to know. And he wanted to know if it could be Moses.
A few statements about his defence and it became apparent to Tedesco that Moses wasn't in the coach's plans.
That was all but the end of Tedesco's interest and the end of the chairman's hopes of landing the trio in a multimillion-dollar package deal.
They wanted the three of them. In the end, they got one, and Kieran Foran's signature would follow in the coming months.
"The Bulldogs were an option for me," Tedesco said.
"And the Roosters were an option for me. But at the end of the day, I thought Roosters were the best fit for me.
"Speaking to Robbo (coach Trent Robinson) and Mini (Anthony Minichiello) as well, he was a big factor for me to benefit my game. At the end of the day, the Roosters were the best option for me and that's why I chose here."
Tedesco won't be the only one in the Roosters team at Allianz Stadium on Friday night that could have been a Bulldog.
It turns out centre Latrell Mitchell also trialled with the club as a 16-year-old.
Apparently, he wasn't good enough. He never received a phone call back after being invited down to trial by then recruitment manager Noel Cleal.
Talk about the ones that got away.
I know, it's old news, it just rubs it in what a germ hasler was and fucking dib for allowing it.
