Tom Trbojevic has done just about everything in rugby league and he points to one person as having the biggest impact on his decorated career — Manly legend Brett ‘Snake’ Stewart.
Before Trbojevic inherited the No.1 jersey, Stewart was lighting up the NRL at fullback for the Sea Eagles.
Stewart was still running around when Trbojevic first broke into the NRL back in 2015 and the 26-year-old told the Fox League Podcast the 233-gamer had a “massive” impact on him in those formative years.
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LISTEN TO TOM TRBOJEVIC ON THE FOX LEAGUE PODCAST BELOW
Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic joins the podcast to take a look back over his decorated journey in rugby league.
“He’s still having an impact now,” Trbojevic said of Stewart who is now a specialist coach with the Sea Eagles.
“He has a really smart footy brain and he’s a great guy to have around the club.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for what he did in the game and anything he tells me I listen with both ears because he’s coming from a place with a lot of knowledge and he’s been there and done that.”
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When asked to pinpoint the person that’s had the biggest impact on his career, Trbojevic took a moment to think before saying: “I’d probably go with ‘Snake’.”
“I’ve learnt a lot about how to play footy off the back of what he’s said.
“I grew up watching him play and loving the way he played. He’s an awesome guy to have around the club and he’s a good mate of mine now which is pretty cool — you grow up watching someone like him and end up mates — it’s pretty special and I’m very lucky to have that friendship.”
Another person that’s impacted Trbojevic’s career is his older and “very protective” brother, Jake.
He’s one of, if not the most loved player in the game and is one of the genuine good guys.
“As a player and a teammate you can’t fault him because if you had 13 of him on the field you’d win more games than you’d lose,” Trbojevic said.
“He’s an awesome competitor, his attitude towards every game is pretty special and he’s willing to do things a lot of people aren’t.”
But as a brother…
“There’s many areas you can (fault him) — I don’t know how many I can dive into — but he’s a different character,” Trbojevic chuckled.
“He’s a great brother, he’s very loving and cares a lot. He’s good fun.”
Trbojevic is currently rehabilitating a torn pec. He suffered the injury three minutes into Origin II and was wiped out for the rest of the season.
He felt “bitter disappointment” the moment it happened and struggled at first to accept the lengthy stint on the sidelines coming his way.
“When it did happen I kind of knew it, I’ve done the other side before so I knew I was faced with,” he said.
“It took a while to come to terms with and accept but it is what it is, that’s the game we play.”
Trbojevic is expected to be fully recovered in time for the upcoming Pacific Championships, but batted away questions about whether he’ll put his hand up for Kangaroos selection.
“I haven’t really put much thought into it,” he said.
“I love playing for Australia and there’s no higher honour in our game. But I haven’t played for three or four months so I’ll just keep getting myself right and see what happens.”
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Injuries have played a big role in Trobjevic’s NRL journey — especially in the last three years.
He missed 13 weeks in 2020 with a hamstring injury and then was forced to sit out of the Origin series at the end of that season due to a shoulder injury.
2021 ended up being his career-best season with Trbojevic claiming the Wally Lewis Medal, Brad Fittler Medal and Dally M Medal. But it certainly didn’t start on a high.
He suffered a grade two hamstring tear during pre-season that ruled him out of the first five rounds.
It was said to be suffered during an “innocuous accident”, which Trbojevic later revealed was a slip in the shower. But not long after a video emerged of Trbojevic racing a fan through The Corso in Manly, sparking speculation about the real cause of the injury.
11 rounds into season 2022 Trbojevic suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, there was then a setback with his hamstring during the 2023 pre-season and of course his latest blow — a torn pec.
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Trbojevic pointed to “dealing with injuries” as the biggest challenge he’s faced in his career.
“Probably if I look back a couple of years, I was going through a bad run. It was quite hard at the time and I probably didn’t know how to deal with it that well,” he revealed.
“I probably wasn’t putting everything into my footy career and was making decisions that were possibly hurting it so that was hard to take and accept at the time because I felt like I was letting people down.
“The earlier ones I didn’t really know how to deal with. They were hard to accept.
“Not that I was doing anything wrong but wasn’t making the best decisions to be the best footy player so it was hard to accept them.
“That’s when you feel like you’re letting your teammates and fans down.”
Trbojevic only played 11 games in what he said was a “disappointing” 2023 season for Manly.
It was a new era under coach Anthony Seibold, which Trbojevic “really enjoyed.”
“It was great having ‘Seibs’ on board, he brought some different ideas and everyone bought into them,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone can be the same as (former coach) Des Hasler. He’s a very unique character — a great coach — but Seibs is a lot more relaxed.
“(Seibold) is a great communicator, gets across his message really well to everyone, which I think is important.
“He’s done a great job at that, we’ve all bought into what he’s doing and embraced the things he’s trying to push.”
