Jake Trbojevic and partner share massive personal news on eve of NRL season opener

Jake Trbojevic and partner Alix have sparked a flood of congratulatory messages from around the NRL world after announcing their engagement on social media. The Manly Sea Eagles veteran and his partner took to Instagram on Sunday night to reveal the wonderful news, with Alix showing off her new ring.

"We’re engaged," the pair wrote in a joint post alongside three photos of them celebrating. Alix's brother and Trbojevic's former teammate Corey Waddell was among the many to send their congratulations.

"The best! So happy for you both. Congrats!" Waddell wrote. A number of Trbojevic's other teammates also responded to the good news, which comes just two weeks before the start of the NRL season.

Aaron Woods wrote, "Best ever cobber congratulations legends", while Karl Lawton added: "Congratulations guys! So bloody happy for yas!" James Tedesco, Damien Cook and Cameron Murray were others to send their congratulations.

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The good news comes just before Trbojevic flies to Las Vegas for Manly's season opener against South Sydney. The Sea Eagles will take on the Rabbitohs and the Roosters will clash with the Broncos at Allegiant Stadium to kick off season 2024.

Unfortunately for Manly they'll be forced to do it without forward Toff Sipley, who has been hit with a three-game suspension for a crusher tackle on Roosters winger Dom Young. Sipley was put on report and subsequently banned for the ugly incident that sent Young to hospital in an ambulance while wearing a neck brace during a trial match on Saturday.

Sipley would almost certainly have been part of the Sea Eagles team for the match at Allegiant Stadium on March 3, but has taken an early guilty plea and will miss the next three games. “I thought it was accidental and didn’t look good,” Roosters coach Trent Robinson said of the incident. “There was a lot of force at that point. I don’t know what their (referees) thought process is during the trial games…so I don’t really have an opinion on that apart from exactly how it was. It wasn’t intentional, but it was a lot of force on his neck.”

Dom Young set to miss NRL season opener in Las Vegas

Initial scans cleared Young of any significant damage, but follow-up scans have reportedly found ligament damage in the Englishman's neck that might require surgery. Young is set to miss the trip to Vegas as a result, continuing a difficult time for the former Newcastle Knights player.

Young has endured a difficult off-season and was hospitalised in England when a sinus infection spread to his brain in October. His absence from the Roosters team in Vegas has temporarily solved a selection headache for Robinson, who was struggling to fit Young, Daniel Tupou, Joey Manu, Joseph Suaalii and Billy Smith into four spots in the backline.

On Saturday night, the English international took to Instagram to say he had been feeling fine after the incident. "I'm all good. Appreciate all the messages!" said Young, who was playing his first game since joining the Roosters from Newcastle in the off-season.

Roosters coach Robinson earlier said: "He's good, it's just when you're dealing with the neck, you want to be precautionary, so he's just gone to the hospital to get a scan. He was good in there (in the dressing room), talking and sitting up and all that, but they just want to keep it stable just so we know what's exactly wrong with it. But he was in good spirits and he was fine."

with AAP

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