July 8, 2026 — 10:06pmIt will be a great shame if James Tedesco’s last Origin memory is of Briton Nikora bizarrely taunting him after knocking him out with an accidental head knock.Tedesco was playing his 26th game for the Blues on Wednesday night – only Brad Fittler (31) and Andrew Ettingshausen (27) wore the state’s sky blue more often.Just before half-time, Tedesco tried to tackle Nikora, only for the pair to clash heads, and the Blues No.1 dropped to the ground.Nikora realised Tedesco was in trouble, paused, roared in his face, then let the emotion get the better of him by raising his forearm into the throat of Jack Bostock.As referee Ashley Klein penalised Nikora, there were concerns for Tedesco as he was brought from the field for a head injury assessment.The knock was initially ruled a category two, but everyone inside the ground – and millions more watching at home – suspected Tedesco’s night was done.It was an early night for Blues fullback James Tedesco.Bradley KanarisGiven the Blues veteran turns 34 early next year, it remains highly unlikely he will wear the NSW No.1 again.Penrith’s Dylan Edwards will be pushing hard for a return, Tedesco’s replacement Tolu Koula will only improve, while Koula’s clubmate Tom Trbojevic will also be banging down the door should he be fit on the eve of the series next year.Tedesco won the game in game one when he charged through and leapt high for a Nathan Cleary kick to score right on full-time. It was arguably better than his series-winning try in game three in 2019.Like most of the Blues, Tedesco was kept quiet in Melbourne, and his place in the team would have been questioned had the Blues crashed to another series defeat.Tedesco is mobbed by teammates after scoring the winning try in the dying moments of State of Origin I in Sydney in May. Getty ImagesHe has been such a wonderful servant for NSW. There were also some tough scenes, including being out-leapt by his Sydney Roosters’ teammate Lindsay Collins for a try, and being picked up and driven into the ground while concussed by Jai Arrow during the 2020 decider.The Roosters skipper still has a few good few years in him at club level. Remember, it was this time last year Tedesco had the Dally M medal won for player of the year. Does he start to think about quitting representative football for the sake of squeezing an extra year or two out of his Bondi stay?The replays of Nikora’s reaction will be one of the easy storylines leading into next year’s interstate action. When he wakes up in the morning, Nikora will likely regret hi antics.Tedesco watched the second half from the Blues’ bench, and stood and applauded when Bradman Best scored a length-of-the-field try, despite Queensland legend Cameron Smith claiming Jack Bostock had knocked the ball on at the other end of the field.Blues fans celebrate in the crowd at Suncorp Stadium.Audrey Richardson“I can’t get over that call by the bunker – it’s clearly touched by Bostock,” Smith said.The bunker thought otherwise.From our partners