Manly made a big mistake with Tom Trbojevic late in Cowboys game – and got lucky it didn’t backfire
Why was the superstar fullback still on the field when the result was beyond doubt?
Tom Trbojevic had an absolute blinder as Manly made an early statement about their premiership credentials in their round one thrashing of the Cowboys. But why the hell was he still on the field when the result was already determined with 20 minutes left?
Craig Bellamy took Jahrome Hughes off with 20 minutes left in the Melbourne Storm’s 56-18 win over Parramatta, and Harry Grant also got an early rest with five to go. That seems the smart thing to do when you’ve already secured victory, but Anthony Seibold went the other way on Saturday night.
The Manly coach left his $1.2 million man out there for the full 80 minutes – an extremely risky move considering he didn’t play in the pre-season and has an extensive history of injuries. Could you imagine the uproar if he got injured again on Saturday night taking meaningless hit-ups and hanging his arm out to try and prevent tries that had no bearing on the result.
It’s hard to fathom an argument as to why Trbojevic wasn’t given an early shower, or moved to the wing or centre at the very least. Many would say he shouldn’t have been out there in the final 10 and put in a position where something could have gone wrong.
The Sea Eagles have no shortage of options for players who could have taken over at the back for Turbo, with Lehi Hopoate, Reuben Garrick and Tolu Koula all spending time at fullback previously. The scoreline was 42-0 with 20 minutes to play, and it was the same with just eight minutes remaining.
But Turbo was still out there in the dying stages, and Manly fans would have been holding their breath in a couple of worrying moments. The fullback was taking meaningless carries from his own half and running into tackles like the score was 0-0.
Tom Trbojevic in concerning scenes late in Manly win
And there were also a couple of telling moments in defence that raised eyebrows. Seibold might argue he kept Trbojevic on the field to try and rack up as many points as possible to boost Manly’s for-and-against. The tussle for finals positions could very well come down to points-differential after all.
But a clearly-gassed Turbo was actually part of the reason the Cowboys scored 12 points instead of 0. He didn’t hustle back after dropping the ball and turning over possession with eight minutes to play, and Scott Drinkwater had a clear passage to the try-line when he broke free. You can’t blame Turbo for not busting his butt to get back considering the scoreline, but it might have been a different story if someone else was playing fullback and Turbo was in cotton wool on the bench.
He made more of an effort to try and prevent Braidon Burns scoring the Cowboys’ second try, but hung out his right arm dangerously as the winger sliced past him. Let’s not forget Trbojevic ruptured his pec in a State of Origin game in 2023, and that’s the usual mechanism for suffering that injury.
All-in-all it’s hard to see the wisdom in keeping Turbo on the field with the result put to bed. You can’t blame Trbojevic for wanting to give fans bang for their buck, but it might have been a very different story if it backfired.
If the 28-year-old can stay fit and enjoy a rare injury-free season, there’s every chance the Sea Eagles will be premiership contenders. Some are already tipping him to win a second Dally M medal based off Saturday night’s performance.
It’s taken just one game of the new NRL season for Cooper Cronk to suggest Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans could turn his back on Billy Slater and the Maroons and put all his focus on trying to win another premiership with the Sea Eagles. Cherry-Evans turned back the clock in a classy display against the Cowboys in round one and Tom Trbojevic was also outstanding in the 42-12 thumping as Manly put down an early statement that they’ll be a genuine premiership threat in 2025.
As is always the case, much of the Sea Eagles’ hopes will rest on their superstar fullback remaining on the park, but with ‘Turbo’ firing and Cherry-Evans pulling the strings at halfback, Anthony Seibold’s side look to be one of the top contenders. And four-time NRL premiership winning halfback Cronk believes Manly’s captain could be tempted to put all his efforts towards trying to win another grand final with the Sea Eagles, by giving away State of Origin this year.
