Tom Trbojevic dealt devastating injury blow as concerning Manly NRL trend emerges

Sea Eagles and Blues fans face a nervous wait to learn the extent of a hamstring injury suffered by Tom Trbojevic in Manly's 30-24 loss to the Dolphins on Thursday night. In wet conditions at Suncorp Stadium, Wayne Bennett's men handed the Sea Eagles a second-straight defeat and the night was only made worse after Trbojevic limped off the field in the 68th minute.

The star fullback picked up a hamstring injury as he tried to stop Jack Bostock from scoring what turned out to be the match-winning try. In a desperate bid to prevent him from scoring, Trbojevic charged across the field to try to tackle the Dolphins winger but the extra exertion appeared to twinge his hamstring before he then collided at speed with the cameraman.

After the match Manly coach Anthony Seibold confirmed the No.1 had suffered another hamstring tweak, at least the fifth of his career so far. Trobjevic's injury puts him in serious doubt for at least Game I of the Blues State of Origin series that kicks off next month.

It is believed that Trojevic suffered a grade 2 hamstring strain, which generally means four to six weeks on the sidelines. However, with his history of hamstring issues, his recovery could take longer.

Scans on Friday will reveal the extent of the injury and the timeline of his return but he will likely miss at least the Origin series opener on June 5 in Sydney. It is a major blow for the 27-year-old who has long struggled to make it through a full State of Origin series or a full season of NRL. In 2022, Trbojevic was ruled out of Origin after dislocating his shoulder. And last year he picked up a season-ending injury in Game II of Origin, rupturing his pectoral.

The hamstring injury comes after Trbojevic had earlier stayed down with an ankle complaint but after receiving some medical treatment from the Manly trainers, he was able to play on. To make Manly's injury matters worse, winger Jason Saab also came from the field in the 16th minute with a shoulder injury and did not return.

"Jason needs a scan but they are telling me it is a grade three," Seibold said. "We have lost both of those guys (Trbojevic and Saab) for a period of time."

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Manly blow early lead again

The Sea Eagles were well on top for the first half an hour but at the end of the first half, the Dolphins ran in three quick tries in the space of five minutes to take a slender lead into the half-time break. Manly managed to regain the lead early in the second half when the Trbojevic brothers, Jake and Tom, combined close to the line, with the fullback crashing over for his first try of the night.

From there the Dolphins equalised with a penalty goal before Bostock's game-winner with just shy of 15 minutes to go. Down on the scoreboard and without Trbojevic, the Sea Eagles offered little to threaten the Dolphins late on, eventually going down by six points.

The Sea Eagles have now lost three games this year after taking large leads early, exposing a concerning trend. Manly led 14-0 against Parramatta before losing 28-24 earlier this season. And last week they got out to a commanding 20-0 lead over Canberra before one of the all-time great collapses to lose 26-24 at home.

On Thursday against the Dolphins, the Sea Eagles were looking in control at 16-4 before a five-minute lapse before halftime cost them three tries, and ultimately the match. After the match captain Daly Cherry-Evans said it is something that is happening time and time again and must be addressed.

"We are in here talking about the same trend again so it is something we need to fix and something that all of us can help each other with," captain Daly Cherry-Evans said. "We have got to change a few things to get the result we are after. We can fix it. We just have to work harder at it."

with AAP