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Sydney Morning Herald

How Tom Trbojevic really felt about giving up Manly No.1 jumper

Pressed on whether it took him a while to get over the news, Trbojevic said: 'Yeah, but we don't have a while in this game. I've had many conversations in the past week with Seibs and the staff about it. I've come to terms with it, and it's about moving forward now. 'Having a kind of stop-start year, it doesn't build confidence. You only get confidence going out and playing consistent footy. I've just got to focus on that. 'It's been a really frustrating year for me so far. It's quite hard [to deal with], but that's all right. 'Every man and his dog has a comment about how I am and how I feel. 'I think half the time people say I look injured when I don't play well, which is kind of what it's come to. 'I get it. Is it frustrating? Yes. But I get it. Like last game, there was a report saying I wasn't 100 per cent, but I was fine. 'I'm happy to do what's best for the team. I'm not bigger than the club.' There are few – if any – better fullbacks in the game when Trbojevic is fit and firing. Who can forget his 2021 season when he won the Dally M Medal playing just 18 games? His move allows Hopoate to slot into the custodian role, with Reuben Garrick, who has been vocal about wanting to play centre – and has done so for the past 18 months – reverting to right wing. Manly are coming off losses to lowly Newcastle and the Gold Coast, which led to speculation about Seibold's future. 'That's just all external noise because of the fact we're losing footy games. We just need to win games and then it'll go away,' Trbojevic said about the coach. 'We're a club that should be playing finals footy, and at this stage we're not in the top eight. We need to change that. It's a poor reflection on all of us. We're the only ones who can turn it around.' Mestrov, who announced a partnership with Manly Fast Ferry on Monday afternoon, said of Seibold, who is contracted until the end of 2027: 'At the end of the day, Seibs is 100 per cent safe, and we're in the battle together. The board, myself, we're backing Seibs. Loading 'We're only just out of the top eight. We know we've got a good footy team – we know we've got a top-four side. We've lost our last two games against lower sides, which is unacceptable. 'We had some soul-searching and tough conversations during the bye week, and Seibs and I expect a better performance on Friday. 'Seibs has two more years after this, and I expect him to see that out.'