Sea Eagles copy Latrell move after star’s injury

Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic will head to the USA to receive treatment on his troublesome hamstring, following in the footsteps of Rabbitohs counterpart Latrell Mitchell.

Trbojevic suffered a hamstring strain during a training session earlier this month, and has battled similar issues in the past.

Mitchell headed to Philadelphia in the middle of last season to visit specialist Bill Knowles, and returned to form in emphatic fashion in the second half of the 2022 campaign.

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While Trbojevic’s injury history is slightly more chequered than Mitchell’s, the Sea Eagles are confident that the trip will pay dividends.

“I’m very grateful,” Trbojevic said.

“You obviously saw what Latrell did on the back of it so I think it’s a really good opportunity for me to go over there and look at a few new ideas, and pick some things out that I can take back here and hopefully have a really good 2023.”

There’s no doubting Trbojevic’s incredible talent, but his inability to stay on the field has been a huge issue for the Sea Eagles.

It’s the fourth time in four years that the 2021 Dally M winner has been shelved by hamstring issues, in addition to other pec, shoulder and knee ailments. 

Aside from that stellar 2021 campaign, he has racked up just 26 appearances across 2019, 2020, and 2022. 

“Bill’s worked with Latrell Mitchell in the past, amongst other athletes – so it’s a great opportunity for Tom to go over there and spend two weeks, 20 sessions, working on re-conditioning his body, and specifically his hamstring,” head coach Anthony Seibold said.

“We thought as a club, we wanted to provide the best services to Tom, and we thought that Bill Knowles was the person we would turn to.”

Sea Eagles CEO Tony Mestrov described the decision as a “no brainer”.

“Everyone wants to see him on the field in rugby league,” Mestrov said.

As the Rabbitohs did with Mitchell, Manly will send a video team over with their star player to chronicle his rehab.

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