The Sydney Roosters have vowed not to focus on Souths forward Jai Arrow when they take on the Rabbitohs on Friday.
Emotions got the better of the Sydney Roosters the last time they played arch rival South Sydney, but captain James Tedesco insists the Tricolours won’t fall into the same trap on Friday night.
Flash back to round 3 and the Roosters let frustration towards Rabbitohs back-rower Jai Arrow get the better of them, resulting in a 26-16 loss.
Trent Robinson’s men were desperate to get revenge on Arrow for his ugly late hit on Tedesco during the 2020 Origin decider in Brisbane.
Only problem was, the Roosters uncharacteristically went too far, paving the way for prop Daniel Suluka-Fifita to spend time in the sin bin.
Suluka-Fifita was charged by the NRL judiciary after throwing a punch at the back of Arrow’s head.
The incident personified the Roosters’ struggles on a forgettable night.
On Friday night the Tricolours get another shot at the Rabbitohs but Tedesco doesn’t want a repeat in the emotion stakes when it comes to taking on Arrow and a strong Souths forward pack.
“There will definitely be no vocal point about him (Arrow) this time,” Tedesco said.
“There was a bit from what happened at the back end of last year and the boys took it a bit personally.
“But it bit us in the backside when we had someone sin-binned.
“It has been a big focus for us not to play with emotion. I think it has got the best of us sometimes and it showed earlier in the year.
“For us, it is all about getting the job done and no emotion attached.”
Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves also physically went after Arrow during the round 3 clash against Souths.
Tedesco expects Waerea-Hargreaves to control his aggression against the Rabbitohs on Friday as the Tricolours look to secure a top-four position.
“Jared fires up quite a bit, so it isn’t really abnormal for him to get angry or aggressive,” he said.
“That is just his nature on the field, but I don’t think you’ll see anything like that.
“It will just be the natural competition between us and Souths.”
Tedesco believes the Roosters are ready to prove their premiership credentials against the third-placed Rabbitohs.
“It is a big test for us,” he said.
“Souths are playing some really good footy at the moment and it is a good test for us to come up against a top side.
“It is a good chance to redeem ourselves, and still fight for that top-four spot.”
Originally published as Why James Tedesco doesn’t want the Sydney Roosters to play with emotion against South Sydney