Manly’s previously ground-bound star Tom Trbojevic removed any doubt about whether he can still cut it at Origin level with a timely hat-trick to return to form in Sunday’s 42-14 demolition job in Canberra.
Trbojevic’s recent struggles with form due to a lingering groin injury had reduced him from automatic NSW selection to fringe candidate but the 26-year-old fullback showed he will be ready for the Maroons on May 31 by putting the Raiders to the sword.
His brother Jake also looks set to be in the Blues squad after making a successful early return from a calf strain as Manly moved to one point outside the top eight after ending the Raiders’ five-game winning streak.
Their younger sibling Ben, starting alongside Tom and Jake for only the second time, limped off with a hamstring injury in the only sour note for the family.
Second-rower Haumole Olakau’atu is a chance to make his Blues debut but is facing a nervous wait before the match review committee announces its findings due to a high shot on Canberra veteran Jarrod Croker.
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Trbojevic scored his first try since Round 7 when he muscled over in the corner after surging into the defensive line from 15m out.
And he made it a double in the first half when he sidestepped back against the grain to show he’s still an elite attacking weapon.
“Just too quick, Tommy. A bit of footwork. And that’s as fast as he’s looked all season. Fantastic,” said Blues advisor Greg Alexander on Fox League commentary.
Turbo’s third try in the second half was his best – he created a break for Jason Saab and backed it up from long range, striding out at close to full pace.
This was the Tommy Turbo that Alexander and Blues coach Brad Fittler had been waiting to see.
“It’s nice to put in a performance like that,” Trbojevic said. “I love playing footy and I love playing well so it was good.”
When asked if Origin selection was on his mind, he replied: “To be honest, it wasn’t. I was just really focused on doing my job here for the team and put in a good performance. Those selections come on the back of that.”
Jake was his usual wholehearted self in the middle of GIO Stadium with a desperate lunge on the goal line stopping an Elliott Whitehead try in the second half by jolting the ball from the Canberra forward’s grasp.
“He gives us a lot of leadership in the middle third of the field. We’ve missed that over the last couple of games,” coach Anthony Seibold said. “On both sides of the footy he organises us really effectively. I think it freed up Josh (Schuster) and Tom in particular.
“He brings an attitude and application like few players in the comp.”
Manly’s left edge has leaked like a sieve this season as they entered the contest after three straight losses and Canberra, on a five-game winning run, capitalised in the sixth minute when Josh Schuster made a feeble attempt to stop Elliott Whitehead close to the line.
Schuster was making his return to the NRL after struggling with fitness and a thigh problem but there were no excuses for the turnstile tackle he tried this time around.
Schuster made amends by supplying the final pass for Trbojevic’s try and another to centre Brad Parker as Manly went 10-6 up by the 25th minute.
Brad Parker celebrates after scoring a try with teammates. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Turbo’s second made it 16-6 before a Croker penalty goal on the siren cut the deficit to eight at the break.
Manly winger Reuben Garrick extended the lead to 12 points nine minutes after the restart when he touched down in the corner after referee Gerard Sutton let play go on after a Jordan Rapana professional foul in tackling Parker on suspicion.
Turbo’s third and an individual effort to Schuster blew the score out to 30-8 by the midway point of the second half with each team reduced to 12 after Sean Keppie reacted to a Hudson Young cheap shot after the five-eighth touched down.
Garrick combined with his fellow winger for Saab to finish off another long-range strike before before Ata Mariota restored some respectability to the home team’s scoreboard.
Former Cowboys forward Ben Condon cashed in with a try in his Manly debut in the final minute to add to Canberra’s misery.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart expected a fired-up Manly side desperate to bounce back to form.
“We’ll get straight back on the horse,” he said. Stuart was terse and gave short answers to the journalists’ questions in a brief post-match media conference.
Canberra had a chance to join a five-way tie for first place on the ladder on 16 points if they could have accounted for Manly to rack up a sixth straight success.
But it was one of those games where the worst thing that happened to them was that they got off to a strong start.
After Whitehead plunged over for a soft try early on, the home side did not convert the early dominance and generally looked lethargic in attack and defence for the most part thereafter.
They have dropped to a 6-5 record and are still in the top eight just one win behind the leaders and have the advantage of taking on an Origin-depleted Rabbitohs side next Saturday with Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton available for them after recently announcing their respective retirements from interstate duty.
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