'We'll work canteen to keep Tom and Jake': Manly back Storm-style spending

Manly's roster management is following the same path that made Melbourne the most successful club of the past decade as the Sea Eagles sink their future into a holy trinity of Daly Cherry-Evans and the Trbojevic brothers.

And Jorge Taufua says he and his team-mates are willing to work the Sea Eagles canteen to ensure local juniors Tom and Jake Trbojevic stay in maroon and white for the rest of their careers.

Des Hasler has taken up the slack in negotiations around the Trbojevic brothers' futures beyond 2020, with multi-million dollar, long-term deals on the cards to keep both at their junior club.

With Tom's market value hovering above the $1 million mark and Jake's not too far below, retaining both alongside Cherry-Evans would see Manly pour around 30 per cent of their $9.6 million salary cap into three star players.

Craig Bellamy created an NRL powerhouse along the same lines, building premiership-winning sides around Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk for more than a decade.

The latest Sea Eagles-Storm showdown on Saturday comes as Hasler emulates Bellamy's knack of rebooting NRL careers with the likes of Moses Suli, Reuben Garrick, Curtis Sironen and Brendan Elliott hitting new heights after the Sea Eagles slumped to second-last in 2018.

And with Sea Eagles officials prepared to go all out to keep the Trbojevics cemented at the top of Manly's roster, Taufua is confident sacrifices would be made on both ends to keep the pair at the club.

"They're kind of like a big three," Taufua told pan66.com of Cherry-Evans and the Trbojevics.

"This club, firstly they've done great to nurture Tom and Jake to where they are.

"If half of the squad have to work at the canteen or something to keep the brothers here, then I'll put my hand up.

"I know they bleed maroon and white and they don't want to be anywhere else. Knowing how humble they are they probably would sacrifice pay to stay here with Cherry, with this group.

"So they deserve every penny and I hope they get it and we get it to them somehow. But that's the kind of people they are. I think they'll sacrifice a bit to stay together and be here."

Tom Trbojevic proved nigh on unstoppable sniping around the ruck against Parramatta on Sunday, racking up 269 running metres as Manly's big men ran riot through the middle.

Described by Darren Lockyer as "second hooker" play, Trbojevic employed similar tactics in Origin when he regularly came infield from centre to look for the ball as a roving fullback, but Taufua says it isn't something the 22-year-old practices during the week.

"We don't really train that way," Taufua said.

"He doesn't go and do that at training, but then he gets out there and plays eyes-up.

"It's really just instinct with him and Manase [Fainu] too around the ruck. When Api [Koroisau] comes back, that's how Des wants us to play.

"All bets are off when there's a quick play-the-ball and they see something.

"I can't really explain it. Tommy's at a certain level at training where he's untouchable to his team-mates.

"And then he goes and does it in a game, too. He seems to just get better and better every time you think he can't outdo his own performances."