Jake Trbojevic has labelled suggestions of a rift between him and Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans as “ridiculous” reaffirming his commitment to the Sea Eagles and urging people to move past the club’s pride jersey furore.
The Manly lock, who is currently on tour with the Kangaroos, has kept a low-profile following the messy end to Des Hasler’s second stint at the club.
Trbojevic was an ally of Hasler, who looks set to be replaced by former Brisbane and South Sydney coach Anthony Seibold.
Part of the fallout of Hasler’s exit led to speculation that Jake and brother Tom would explore their options away from Brookvale Oval given how close they were to the axed Sea Eagles coach.
It followed a tumultuous end to the 2022 NRL season where Manly lost their last seven games in the aftermath of the pride jersey saga. But Trbojevic, said he and brother Tom never had any desire to leave the club.
“We definitely didn’t want to (leave), that didn’t come from us,” he said. “We love Manly and grew up in Manly.
“It’s definitely hard at times seeing your loyalty get questioned when we’ve worked really hard and we want Manly to do well. It’s been great being here, (you) don’t go on social media, don’t read anything and you just keep going on with your business.”
Trbojevic also hosed down speculation he had fallen out with Cherry-Evans as part of the disastrous end to Manly’s 2022 campaign.
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“That was frustrating to hear and I don’t like seeing it, I’m a really good friend of Daly’s,” Trbojevic said. “It’s tough to see and I try not to think about it. It’s people making it awkward for us and it’s fine. We get on really well and had a great time over here and have been hanging out heaps. I don’t know where that comes from.”
Trbojevic urged outsiders to look beyond the pride jersey as a reason for their late-season demise.
“They have their view and I was fine with it, I understand their biggest thing is religion, my biggest thing is footy,” he said.
“The fact that we lost seven after has made people keep talking about it. Why are we going to dwell on it and let one game affect us moving forward? I don’t want to lose seven in a row, it sucks.”
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