Tom Trbojevic has straightened the narrative surrounding retirement rumours after the superstar fullback went down injured with another hamstring injury.
It was only 13 minutes into the match against the North Queensland Cowboys before Trbojevic reached for his hamstring in contact.
It was dire scenes in Townsville when Trbojevic hobbled off the field into the sheds, with the players, crowd, and fans sitting at home watching, all knowing what this means for Manly: another lengthy stint on the sidelines.
Looking at a 6-8 week layoff from the paddock, and his eighth hamstring injury, four on each leg, meant speculation was going to mount on the early-retirement rumours.
However, the classy fullback has pushed back claims that he'll be derailed from his latest setback, and told the Sydney Morning Herald that he will be back playing for Manly after the injury has healed.
“I understand there will be a lot of people asking the question, and saying different things about that [early retirement], but I love playing footy, I want to keep playing the game I love, so it's something I won't even entertain,” Trbojevic told the SMH.
“All I can do is keep working hard. It's unfortunate, and I'm as disappointed as any Manly fan.
“The hardest thing is you don't have the direct answers as to why it keeps happening.
“We'll implement things we learned from [hamstring specialist] David [Opar], keep taking in information, and try to better our recovery program.
“I had actually been feeling good all year. As soon as it happened, I knew. It didn't happen when I was running. I actually did it when I was in the tackle. I was trying to twist, and my leg got extended a little awkwardly.
“It's not a great feeling when you walk off the field. You put in so much work to try and prevent injuries. When you realise where you're going to end up [in rehab] for the next little bit, it's always sad.”
Trbojevic will be replaced by the electric Tolutau Koula, who is in career-best form and bristling with confidence every time he runs the ball.
The club may opt to have Trbojevic in the centres when he returns, an experiment done to ease the workload on his hamstrings, which was put into practice last year, however, it didn't stick for longer than a month.
“I try not to get caught up in that debate too much,” Trbojevic said.
“Fullback is where I like playing, but I'll do whatever ‘Foz' [Foran] wants me to do.
“Tolu is a quality player, and someone I'm looking forward to watching. He's an absolute threat with the ball in his hands, and breaks tackles so easily. All I can do is focus on my recovery and doing whatever I can for the team.”
To start the year, Trbojevic looked the best he has since his famous 2021 Dally M season, and would have no-doubt played into selections in the NSW Blues outside backs.
Although Game 1 may be out the window, he still has plenty of time left to prove his fitness for the remaining two fixtures, especially if NSW doesn't yield results.
Sea Eagles teammate Koula may also fall into representative selection if he goes on to excel in the fullback role in the next month.
Koula will get his first start at fullback since 2024 when the Sea Eagles host their old rivals, the Parramatta Eels, at Brookvale this Sunday.
