Big finish: James Tedesco wants to leave his mark at the Tigers with a strong finish to the season. Credit:Getty Images "We know he likes taking short sides on and throws long and kicks early to corners," Tedesco said. "I know his game inside out and we do our video on most players every week to understand what they're going to do to help stop it when we're fatigued and under pressure." But there is still something that doesn't quite sit right with seeing Moses in blue and gold against the club he was supposed to help carry into a new era following false dawn after false dawn. Instead the Moses-Tedesco-Brooks pad will have three sets of colours on the clothesline from next year and feature players heading all over Sydney for training. The smiles? Maybe they'll all return. Just like Moses' has in recent weeks after the on-again-off-again mid-season switch to the finals-bound Eels after the Tigers pulled his contract extension in an ultimately futile bid to keep Tedesco (Roosters) and skipper Aaron Woods (Bulldogs).

"He's winning games so he's been a bit happier," Tedesco said. "He was happy to have a fresh start at Parra and to get away from the Tigers for a bit. "He was keen to make that change and he was obviously a lot happier with how he was going over there. I won't take it too serious unless things start heating up, but mostly I think we'll have a laugh out there." Added Woods: "He's been playing some good footy and we're expecting a couple of words as he's a cheeky little bugger. Of course [there will be chat], he can't keep his mouth shut. "That's what makes him such a great player as he's a really good talker on the field and he's going to be throwing his body around this week." Tedesco hasn't done much winning of late, but he won't hoist the white flag and set sail for Bondi just yet.

It was only this week it started to dawn on him. The State of Origin post-mortem in full swing, arguably the game's best No.1 realised the finish line in Tigertown was near. He knows not many people remember how you start, but many remember how you finished. Which is why with little more than pride – and maybe a green and gold No.1 jersey to play for – he wants to be remembered the right way at Concord. "It's all just dawned on me this week realising I've only got about seven games left with these boys and I might not ever play with them again," he said. "It's all set in I'm going to be leaving this great club. "I want to leave my mark here as a top player and I want to finish the year strongly. It's a big focus for me. Hopefully the boys can see that when I do finish here that I was a player they wanted to play with and I can leave that legacy." But he knows about perspective. Which is why saying goodbye to some teammates is nothing compared to the pain of the Kelly family, whose drive to establish a Youth Suicide awareness campaign will see the Tigers and Eels wear "Stay Kind" messages on their jerseys on Sunday.