Tyrell Sloan was playing reserve grade a year ago but showed on Anzac Day that he belonged with the big boys after almost inspiring the Dragons to a shock win over the Roosters.
The young fullback was brilliant on Tuesday, setting up a try for Tautau Moga with an audacious flick pass before he scored a four-pointer of his own with some raw speed and flashy footwork to turn a 26-12 deficit into a tied ball game in just eight minutes.
The Roosters ended up winning by a point, but Sloan’s performance wasn’t lost on James Tedesco, with the world’s best fullback sharing a nice moment with him after the game.
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“He came up to me after the game wanting to get a photo and said he looked up to me,” Tedesco said.
“I thought he had a great game, especially in the second half. He took the game on and had some really good touches. He’s fast, but people underestimate how strong he is. He got them back in the game with some of his touches.
“I said to him that he’s gotten better and better and that he’s improved out of sight.”
Sloan’s performance caps a stunning turnaround from a young man who was touted as the next big thing at the club, only to be dropped to NSW Cup after just three matches last year.
He ended up playing eight games in the NRL and finished the 2022 season on the wing, which led to him asking for a release.
But that didn’t eventuate, and the decision to stay is paying off, with the 20-year-old starring in attack and coming up with a big defensive play to deny Jaxson Paulo.
“I thought he was outstanding. He turned the game at different times for us,” Dragons coach Anthony Griffin said.
“He saved a try in the left corner in the second half which was a great save for him to get there and bat that dead. He’s progressing really well and he’s a lovely boy.
“He’s just a bit older. Once he gets a bit of confidence and he feels like he belongs at that level … that natural talent that you see is coming out more and more. The biggest thing is that he saves us a lot of times with his scramble.
“He’s learnt how to be a pretty good defensive fullback already, but he’s still got a long way to go in terms of development and knowledge.”
There was a moment late in the second half when he almost latched onto a Talatau Amone grubber that would have put the Red V in front, but Sloan just couldn’t ground the ball before it rolled dead.
It’s a play that they’ve probably executed dozens of times at training and should excite Dragons fans who would have been proud of the effort on Tuesday but want to see that for 80 minutes every week instead of in small doses.
“That’s a snippet of their natural talent,” Griffin said of the Sloan near miss.
“I think the bright spark and the hope is that when we’re down 26-12 and the Roosters are right on top, we find a way to get back in the game and nearly win the game.
“We’ve got a lot of natural talent, but we’ve got to learn how to close a game out or take a game into the bottom end of the 80 minutes and not give the opposition anything they haven’t earned. That’s the tough lesson we learned.”
