Sea Eagles ponder positional switch to keep Turbo moving

The Sea Eagles are weighing up the idea of a move away from fullback for Tom Trbojevic when he returns to action next month, as they seek to preserve his injury-hit body long term.

The 27-year-old representative star has sat out the past six weeks of the NRL Telstra Premiership season with the latest in a long line of hamstring injuries, which all up since 2019 have seen him miss the equivalent of a full season. 

Having previously sent ‘Turbo’ to the United States to work alongside reconditioning specialist Bill Knowles, in an attempt to find a solution to his hamstring woes, the Sea Eagles have now taken to analysing GPS data to see if there is value in moving the 10-season veteran away from the running demands of fullback.

“We have tried to be as objective as possible. We’ve looked at all the GPS data to see whether there is anything that is a real outlier with regards to the contrast or comparison between the two positions [fullback and centre],” Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold said.

“Turbo is one of the very elite players in our game, so look, I’m still not sure what position we will play Turbo.

“I’m not playing ducks and drakes. He’s still got a couple of weeks until he’s going to play and we’ll make a decision as he gets a bit closer.

A lot of it will be led by Turbo. I have got a bit of a gut feel myself, but that’s more for us to have a chat about.

Anthony Seibold

Trbojevic is no stranger to playing across different positions in the backline and throughout his four-Test career for the Kangaroos and 10 Origins for New South Wales he has been used almost exclusively as a centre or winger.

In the absence of Trbojevic following his injury in Round 10, usual centre Tolutau Koula has spent some time in the Manly No.1 jersey, while in the past month 19-year-old flyer Lehi Hopoate has made the spot his own with a string of impressive showings.

“Lehi is right at the beginning of his career. He’s had a really positive start to his career, he’s learned so much, he’s improved out of sight from when he started way back in November," Seibold said. 

“The thing about Lehi is that he’s been really consistent.”

With Trbojevic slated for a Round 18 return, Manly are set to welcome back several frontline players following their bye next week, with Reuben Garrick (concussion) on track to be available to face the Cowboys and Josh Aloiai returning from suspension.