Manly adamant they can fight on without NRL star Tom Trbojevic during latest injury setback
Male adamant they can fight on without Trbojevic in latest setback from injury as New South Wales officials sweat on scans
- Fullback has a shocking history of injuries
- Injured his groin against Wests Tigers
- Sea Eagles will have to lift in his absence
Manly is adamant they can ‘win ugly’ and without Tom Trbojevic if necessary, as the superstar fullback awaits scans of his injured groin.
Trbojevic was due to undergo scans on Monday ahead of Saturday’s NRL clash with Gold Coast, with Manly hoping he had a groin pain late into Sunday’s 22-16 win over Wests Tigers.
Either way, the Sea Eagles are adamant their season won’t be defined by the fullback’s fitness, insisting they’ll be on a different side in 2023 after climbing to second on the ladder.
They are also buoyed by their ability to overcome difficulties after coming from behind in the last 10 minutes against the Tigers with Trbojevic and center Brad Parker off the field.
“We’ve faced a lot of adversity, and that’s part of the male mentality we’re talking about,” said prop Josh Aloiai.
“One of the things we said when we were down and they scored that late try was we said ‘guys let’s take it out of the fire here’.
“Maybe we wouldn’t have gotten there in the past and found a way to win ugly. An ugly win is better than an ugly loss.’
Tom Trbojevic of the Sea Eagles is struggling with a groin injury in the game against
The Sea Eagles have won just 18 of 53 games without Trbojecic since 2013 and will face another battle without him in 2023
The injured fullback awaits the results of scans that could also put his State of Origin chances for New South Wales on the ice
Aloiai said it hurt him and other players to see Trbojevic limping off the field after the number 1’s horror run with injuries over the past four years.
Male players have made every effort to grow closer off the field this season, with Trbojevic hosting a lengthy trivia night and hosting a dinner for the team in recent weeks.
“We’re just super connected here and some of our relationships are really close,” Aloiai said.
“So when you see someone get hurt, it hurts a little bit.
‘You want that connection in the group. We really care about each other and it shows on the pitch and what we’re building off the pitch.
“Whatever happens, we will have each other’s backs. And that’s how we respond to everything this year.’
Josh Aloiai says the rest of the Manly team are ready to take off in the absence of injured star Tom Trbojevic, despite their poor record without him
Manly escaped with a late try against Wests Tigers but will need to show improvement in the coming weeks, especially without their injured star
Male Captain Daly Cherry-Evans echoed Aloiai’s comments.
The Sea Eagles have won just 18 of 53 games without Trbojevic since the start of 2019, compared to 34 of 51 with him.
Manly is also six points better off in attack and eight points better in defense with Trbojevic on the pitch.
Statistically, that 14-point swing with Trbojevic’s play is greater than the influence of Andrew Johns at Newcastle and Johnathan Thurston at North Queensland.
But Cherry-Evans firmly believed that Manly could perform without their full-back.
“Yes, we’re going to miss him when he’s not playing. Because he’s an important part of our team,” said Cherry-Evans.
“But (the win over the Tigers) showed that we’re going to try and turn a page when it comes to Tom potentially playing or not playing, we’ll just move on.”