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Tom Trbojevic is a shadow of his once-imposing self with the Manly star again looking second rate in Sunday’s 20-14 loss to Cronulla which casts further doubt over his chances of an Origin recall.
Trbojevic was a passenger at times as he struggles to regain fitness from a recent groin injury and in a major worry for Manly coach Anthony Seibold and Blues counterpart Brad Fittler, the fullback was unable to keep pace when an opponent made a break.
He gave up the chase early the week before against Brisbane when winger Selwyn Cobbo left him for dead but this time around it was a forward, Cronulla second-rower Briton Nikora who sprinted away from Trbojevic as he set up a try for Jesse Ramien.
“Not good signs for Trbojevic operating at 100 per cent – he’s nowhere near it,” Fox League expert Cooper Cronk said in commentary as he watched the replay of Nikora scooting past a player who should be able to run him down in the blink of an eye.
For the Sharks, the win gets them back into the top four after an embarrassing loss to the Dolphins in Magic Round.
For a player who has the size and speed to be one of the most dynamic attacking weapons in the NRL, it’s sad to see Trbojevic unable to produce anything close to his best.
The 2021 Dally M Medal winner, who missed most of last year due to shoulder surgery, has been dogged by hamstring and groin problems this season.
After sitting out the loss to the Titans a couple of weeks ago, the question needs to be asked – did Manly rush him back too early when it would have been better for him to spend longer on the sidelines to get back into peak condition.
Jesse Ramien celebrates after scoring. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
He had one touch of class in the loss to the Sharks, combining with brother Ben down a short side to set up a try for Reuben Garrick in his 100th NRL appearance but for this flock of Sea Eagles with a points shortage, that was about it.
Fittler looked certain to reunite Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell in the centres for Origin I on May 31 at Adelaide Oval after they both sat out last year’s campaign with the Rabbitohs star sidelined by a torn hamstring.
But while Mitchell has been starring for Souths recently, Trbojevic’s form means he could be a target for Queensland if selected on reputation when the squad is announced next Sunday night.
He will head to Canberra for the last match of Round 12 before Fittler names his team with one last chance to prove he’s worth a start as the Blues try to wrest back the Origin shield from the Maroons.
“It’s hard for him when Nicho Hynes kicked us into the corners,” coach Anthony Seibold said. “He’s really effective with his kicking game and suffocated us there.
“The thing that I really liked about Tom’s game although he didn’t get in the clear as such, but just the intent with which he carried the footy, really charging into the opposition.
“There was plenty of intent and that’s a good thing. When Tom’s got that intent we know he’s not far away from playing his best footy.”
He finished with 191 running metres from 23 hit-ups but no tackle breaks or assists while missing four tackles and coming up with a couple of handling errors. Decent stats for a run-of-the-mill fullback but Manly need their superstar to shine if they’re any hope of making the finals.
After their 20-point thumping at the hands of the Dolphins when they trailed 30-0 after the first half-hour, the Sharks needed a strong performance to show they were true finals contenders.
And they responded.
Despite prop Oregon Kaufusi (illness) and centre Siosifa Talakai (neck) being late withdrawals, coach Craig Fitzgibbon had a couple of steady hands at the ready with Cameron McInnes and Connor Tracey promoted to the run-on side.
A try to prop Royce Hunt got the visitors off to strong start after five minutes and winger Sione Katoa showed off his fancy footwork for a 14-2 half-time buffer.
When Nikora sped around Trbojevic for Ramien’s long-range try, the Sharks were up by 18 and after Manly cut the gap to 12 midway through the second half when Garrick got his milestone moment, they made it a six-point margin when Tolu Koula was given a lucky break by referee Ashley Klein.
He threw the ball away after being tackled just short of the line, thinking the set was over. Klein had signalled six again and the Manly centre had not realised but the ref allowed him to return to the spot and play the ball. Two plays later, Daly Cherry-Evans put Lachlan Croker over the line.
Cronulla survived a couple more anxious moments before closing out an important win which sends Manly to 12th on the ladder with just four wins from their 10 starts.
“I felt like we had plenty of ball in the first half. We earned the right to get that ball though by the way we defended and held the ball,” Fitzgibbon said. “In the second half we had no ball. We spent a lot of time on our tryline and got out of it.”
Manly forward Josh Aloiai could be out for a lengthy spell after he suffered a dislocated shoulder in the first half while Kelma Tuilagi played with a fractured cheekbone for half an hour. Seibold thinks Jake Trbojevic (calf) and Josh Schuster (thigh) should be right to face the Raiders next weekend.