NRL great Billy Slater has put the blowtorch on Manly’s players as mystery continues to surround the fitness of fullback Tom Trbojevic.
The Sea Eagles haven’t won a match since round seven and the State of Origin star has been well below his best.
Trbojevic was a late withdrawal in round nine against the Titans after leaving the field early the previous week.
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Many experts have questioned whether Trbojevic is playing at 100 per cent fitness, but Slater believes there has to be some faith in the man himself.
“We’ve got to believe Tom, don’t we?,” he said on the Billy Slater Podcast.
“He’s saying he’s not injured. He’s saying ‘there’s no injury, I feel fine, I’m just not playing well’.”
Manly’s 32-6 Magic Round loss to the Broncos was one of its worst performances of the season with the side completing 26 out of 40 sets (65 per cent). Couple that with 38 missed tackles compared to the Broncos’ 27 and it’s no surprise the score blew out.
Slater thinks the problem with Manly isn’t Trbojevic.
“Manly made 10 errors in the first half, I don’t care who you are, or who you’re playing against, if you make 10 errors in the first half (you’re up against it),” he said.
“You only get 20 sets in the first half, 20 sets in the second half, if you have 40 sets in a game and you make 10 errors in that first half, half your sets you’re just giving the ball away.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, you’re going to struggle and you’re going to have less petrol if you don’t complete your sets.
“So I’m not sure where to go with this because (Trbojevic) certainly doesn’t look the player he’s looked in the past but at the same time his team’s a shadow of themselves as well.”
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With the Magic Round loss, the Sea Eagles now sit in 10th, having been in the top four not too long ago. The round seven 18-8 win against Melbourne suggested Anthony Siebold’s men were on the right track but Slater believes that could’ve been the catalyst for the side’s fall from grace.
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“They beat the Melbourne Storm three weeks ago and they looked brilliant, they were really physical but they’ve lost that,” he said.
“I don’t know whether that game took a whole heap out of them and they can’t find that energy and form again but I just think Tom’s a reflection of where the team’s at right now.
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“When the team do their job and lay that platform, that’s going to give him more opportunities so I don’t know if I’m going to jump in the ‘Tom Trbojevic isn’t 100 per cent’ (conversation), he may not be, he might just be toughing it out but I think we’ve got to believe him.
“He doesn’t take me as a guy who’s going to pull the wool over people’s eyes and not tell the truth, he’s a pretty decent person.
“When your team’s not going well it’s hard for you to play well. “
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