We are just a week away from New South Wales announcing their side for State of Origin Game 1, and Manly Sea Eagles' superstar Tom Trbojevic is seemingly falling further and further from selection.
His recent form at Manly has been nowhere near his best and this will be under the microscope by Blues coach Brad Fittler.
A key concern for the fullback is the speed it seems he has lost. Some weeks ago he was run down by Tigers prop Stefano Utoikamanu, and in his most recent match against Cronulla he was stood up on the outside by back-rower Briton Nikora.
However first-year Manly coach Anthony Seibold has gone into bat for his fullback saying he is still an asset in the origin arena.
"I really liked about Tom's game, although he didn't get in the clear as such, just the intent that he carried the footy with, like he was carrying the footy on tackle three and lots of times on tackle five, really charging into the opposition," Seibold said during his post-game press conference.
“There was plenty of intent there and that's a good thing, when Tommy has that intent we know he's not far away from playing his best footy."
However, just enough will not be good enough in 2023 if 'Turbo' wishes to find himself in the centres for the Blues once again.
With extremely hot competition from Rabbitohs centre Campbell Graham, Turbo will need to have a monster performance against the Raiders on Sunday as his final audition before the squad is announced.
