Tom Trbojevic responds to Kalyn Ponga furore amid sad confession about brother Jake
Trbojevic will feature for the Kangaroos for the first time in six years at the Pacific Championships.
Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic believes playing for Australia is the highest honour in rugby league following Kalyn Ponga's call to initially declare himself unavailable for Kangaroos selection before backflipping on his decision after the NRL threatened sanctions. Trbojevic was named in Mal Meninga's 21-man Kangaroos squad on Monday, while the likes of Ponga, James Tedesco and his brother Jake were snubbed.
On Wednesday, Trbojevic declared he is fit and ready to put his best foot forward as he ends his six-year hiatus from the international arena this month. The fullback was somewhat of a surprising selection choice given the fact he battled through the final two games of the NRL season with a shoulder issue that was expected to require surgery and also had a knee complaint. But in a big boost for Australia ahead of the Pacific Championships, the 28-year-old revealed he no longer requires surgery on the troublesome shoulder and says his knee is causing him no issues.
"The knee was always fine," Trbojevic told media on Wednesday. "With the shoulder, I thought I was actually gonna need surgery. The doctor had given me that indication, but he wasn't 100 per cent sure. We went and saw the surgeon after we finished up and he said that he doesn't think we need it, so we moved on from there."
Trbojevic is expected to partner Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow in the centres for Australia, with Dylan Edwards getting the nod at fullback over the likes of James Tedesco and Ponga. The former Australian skipper was dropped from the team, while Ponga was shockingly overlooked by Meninga following an intense saga surrounding his representative availability.
Ponga's omission was a massive surprise considering the big deal that was made over him announcing he would forego playing for his country to focus on the Knights' pre-season. After making that decision the Newcastle superstar was threatened with sanctions by the NRL if he didn’t make himself available for the Pacific Championships and therefore backflipped on his decision, declaring he was ready and willing to be selected. However, he was then snubbed by Meninga.
Addressing Ponga's situation, Trbojevic says he has always viewed representing Australia as the highest honour but didn't want to speculate about the motives behind Ponga's decision to initially pull out. "Everyone is in different circumstances," he said.
"I can't talk on behalf of anyone else, but all I know is that I'm really excited to put that jersey back on and get back into camp. I've always considered it the highest representative honour you can wear. I'm really looking forward to wearing the jersey again, I haven't worn it for six or so years."
Ponga is far from the only player who will miss out on wearing the green and gold later this month, with NSW captain Jake Trbojevic dropped from the Kangaroos squad. And Trbojevic admits it was tough news for his older brother to take.
"He's obviously disappointed, he loves playing for Australia, like everyone," Tom said. "He is disappointed, but he understands that's footy and he'll move on."
Nathan Cleary and Liam Martin out of Pacific Championships
Meanwhile, Panthers grand final hero Liam Martin reportedly withdrew from Australia's Pacific Championships campaign on Wednesday. The Penrith back-rower carried a couple of injury niggles into the NRL grand final and according to SMH’s Michael Chammas, he has opted to withdraw from the Australian squad to allow his body to properly recover ahead of the 2025 NRL season.
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Martin admitted following the grand final win that he couldn't do anything at training on grand final week as a result of injuries to his ribs and shoulder. It is understood Canberra's Hudson Young will take Martin’s spot in Meninga’s 21-man squad.
Martin joins Penrith teammate Nathan Cleary in pulling out, while Cameron Munster and Kotoni Staggs also declared they aren't fit to feature. Mitchell Moses appears likely to be the halfback in the absence of Cleary and with Daly Cherry-Evans not selected, while Tom Dearden will likely be the starting No.6. The Australian coach revealed Isaah Yeo will be the new captain after leading the Panthers to a fourth-straight premiership on Sunday night, with Harry Grant named vice-captain.
