Manly’s Strongest Form Since Injury Struggles Begun

Manly’s Unexpected Success Without Tom Trbojevic

Since the start of the 2019 season, Manly’s star fullback, Tom Trbojevic, has been sidelined due to a series of long-term injuries. Over the years, he has missed multiple games on 12 separate occasions, but during all those periods, the Sea Eagles have never managed to secure a winning record—until now.

This current stretch of success is particularly notable because it comes during Trbojevic’s ongoing hamstring injury, which he suffered in round seven. His absence has coincided with a strong performance from the team, with Manly winning four out of their last six games, achieving a 66% winning rate. One of their losses was by just two points against the premiership favorites, Penrith.

A New Era Under Interim Coach Kieran Foran

The team’s improved performance has been attributed, in part, to the leadership of interim coach Kieran Foran. He has instilled a sense of belief that Manly can win without their captain. Ben Trbojevic, Tom’s brother and teammate, highlighted this shift in mentality.

“When ‘Foz’ is telling you to do something, you just want to go out there and give it all for ‘Foz’. That’s shown in our results,” he said.

Foran’s approach has clearly resonated with the players, leading to a more unified and determined team effort.

The Impact of a Strong Performance in Round Seven

Manly winger Jason Saab credited the team’s performance in round seven as a turning point in their recent success. During that game, Trbojevic suffered a hamstring injury in the 13th minute against North Queensland, but the team rallied to secure a convincing 38-6 win on the road.

“I felt like that went a long way to believing that we’ve got players that can fill in positions,” Saab said.

He added that the team’s response to the loss of Trbojevic showed their resilience and confidence.

“We just went on and did our jobs.”

The Rise of Clayton Faulalo

Another key factor in Manly’s success has been the emergence of back-up fullback Clayton Faulalo. The 26-year-old had only played 11 NRL games before the season began, but he has quickly proven himself as a capable replacement for Trbojevic.

Faulalo has averaged 230 run metres and scored three tries in three games as starting fullback this year. Taniela Paseka, the team’s prop, expressed his confidence in Faulalo’s abilities.

“He trains like that, so I knew he did, he just needed the opportunity,” Paseka said.

“When you have an opportunity and you take it, you can do a lot of things.”