The first rule of Manly is there is no Manly. Actually, wait … that’s Fight Club.
The first rule of Manly is don’t pick a fight with Zorba yet here Anthony Seibold was, slamming former player Peter Peters this week for his “uneducated” views about perennially injured fullback Tom Trbojevic.
In January, Peters told Sky Sports Radio: “I think it’s a business decision. He may have to take an early retirement if it keeps going.”
On Tuesday, Seibold told a media conference: “I think it’s easy to make comments like that, but I don’t think it was an educated comment.”
Why Seibold would bite so hard on Peters’ rather prosaic remarks is a matter for him, but it exposes his naivety about the politics that swirl around his club.
Peters, who never said Trbojevic should be released, is entitled to his opinion and it’s an opinion that echoes many Sea Eagles fans – all rugby league fans for that matter – who fear they may never see the 26-year-old realise his potential.
Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic.Credit:James Alcock
Trbojevic returned from a stint with US movement guru Bill Knowles armed with a new style of running, but the frightening reality is his body may never allow him to play the football that secured NSW the Origin series in 2020 and the man himself the Dally M Medal in 2021.
Trbojevic has suffered no less than six hamstring tears of various grades since he started playing in the NRL, along with a score of ankle, shoulder and pectoral injuries, some of which have required surgery.
Platoons of doctors, surgeons and bio-mechanists have run an eye over him and you sense the dash to Philadelphia to see Knowles was the last throw of the dice.
High-performance types thrive on having their own peculiar vernacular and Knowles has told Trbojevic to “own the ground”.
What this precisely means is unclear, although one high-performance expert I spoke to described it thus: “Being strong through your entire kinetic chain, encapsulating your lower limbs, pelvis and spine so you can absorb energy from the ground and transfer this energy moving forward in space without risk of injury to your tissues [muscles, tendons and joints and ligaments] absorbing and transferring this energy.”
Think about that next time you go for a run.
Hamstrings are temperamental and tricky. Some call them “mosquitoes” because they come from nowhere, without warning, and annoy you to the point where you’re punching the air in frustration.
I’ve known some players to turn white if something brushes against the back of the leg, so paranoid have they become about suffering another dreaded hammy tear.
Perhaps that will be Trbojevic’s greatest assignment: regaining confidence in his tall, angular body.
Injuries have been an unfortunately regular part of Tom Trbojevic’s career.Credit:Getty
Roosters legend Anthony Minichiello’s career was almost trashed by back injuries, forcing him to change his entire approach to movement, recovery and especially food.
“But I never felt as powerful as I ever did after my first back operation,” he admits. “But that means you have to build other strengths into your game. The harder you work at it, the more that fades away.”
Minichiello advises Trbojevic to introduce bone broth and collagen into his daily intake to promote connective tissue strength. He insists neither of these can be found in schooners of Resch’s.
It’s understandable that Seibold wants to defend Trbojevic. We get that. We all want a fully fit Turbo.
But when your side relies so heavily on one player, and that player chews up so much of the salary cap, and that player has played just 121 matches in eight seasons, people have every right to raise questions about his longevity and value — even Zorba.
I’m sure it will be on Seibold’s mind in round one against the Bulldogs when five-eighth Matt Burton launches a spiralling bomb and Trbojevic is standing under it with the defence swarming around him.
Fittler’s value as Blues coach extends beyond the sidelines
The NSW Origin team will meet at the Blues’ centre of excellence this weekend as it plots revenge against Queensland.
Elsewhere in the building, discussions have already started about the future of coach Brad Fittler, who is in the final year of his contract.
It’s a tricky situation for the NSWRL: extend Fittler before the series, therefore eliminating months of speculation – or wait until later in the year?
A dejected Brad Fittler with vanquished Blues Nathan Cleary and Angus Crichton.Credit:Getty
In his five years in charge, Fittler has won three series and lost two.
While his critics say that’s not good enough, and fans mostly care about results, what can’t be ignored is how the Blues’ brand has grown on his watch.
The commercial value of the men’s team has increased a whopping 27 per cent with big name companies like Westpac, PUMA and Jim Beam climbing on board.
And here’s a question: if not Fittler as Blues coach, then who?
Some reckon the only option would be Craig Bellamy, who is expected to finally give away coaching the Storm this year.
Abdo’s tactics under question
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo took umbrage at last week’s item about his ego – and that of RLPA boss Clint Newton – getting in the way of a collective bargaining agreement being struck with the players.
Well, of course Abdo doesn’t have an ego.
That’s why he did a round of interviews with the Herald and News Corp on Monday, defending his position and scorching Newton for deceiving his own members about the deal on the table.
That he did this the very day before locking down with Newton baffled many within Club Land as well as former administrators who fear Abdo’s tactics may not result in getting a deal done.
Mailata ready to star on grandest stage
When I first wrote about Jordan Mailata, just after he had made the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster in 2018, several readers sent in snarky emails declaring the kid would never make it.
Well, don’t stop believin’, baby.
Starting in the all-important position of left tackle, Mailata will be critical for the Eagles when they meet Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Arizona on February 12.
It will be his job to stop Kansas’ rushing defence from getting to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has been carrying a shoulder injury.
Jordan Mailata of the Philadelphia Eagles.Credit:Getty Images
