Horror Turbo scenario confirmed for Manly, Blues
UPDATED: It’s the same old story for Tom Trbojevic and NSW fans with the Manly star set to be ruled out for the entire State of Origin series due to a hamstring injury suffered in Thursday night’s loss to the Dolphins.
Scans are expected to reveal the full damage but it’s understood Manly officials are expecting the star fullback to be sidelined for up to two months.
In wet conditions at Suncorp Stadium, the Dolphins handed the Sea Eagles a second-straight defeat to cement their place in the NRL top-four, but the injury to Trbojevic cast an even darker shadow over the Sea Eagles team.
Trbojevic limped off the field in the 68th minute after colliding with a sideline cameraman while trying to stop Jack Bostock’s match-winning try.
The Manly fullback has had hamstring issues in the past, having flown to the US to receive specialist care. It’s his fifth career hamstring injury.
It’s yet another blow for NSW who will also be without South Sydney captain Cameron Murray for the series.
Trbojevic was earmarked to be in the squad either at fullback or centre, with the Sea Eagles player in competition for the custodian job with James Tedesco and Dylan Edwards.
Tom Trbojevic leaves the field after suffering a leg injury.
Nine’s sideline reporter Danika Mason confirmed on Thursday night that Trbojevic had suffered a hamstring injury in the incident.
Trbojevic had earlier in the match stayed down with an ankle complaint, but after receiving some assistance from the Manly trainers, was able to continue.
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Adding to Manly’s injury woes, Jason Saab also came from the field in the 16th minute with a shoulder injury and did not return.
It’s understood the Sea Eagles are poised to hand the fullback jersey to speedster Tolutau Koula for the Magic Round clash with Brisbane next Friday.
The visitors were on top after the first half an hour, but three tries in the space of five minutes from the Dolphins – including a stellar solo effort from Trai Fuller – put the hosts back into the contest just before the half-time break.
Controversy erupted in the second half when Manly challenged a knock-on by Trbojevic, with the replay showing Jesse Bromwich made accidental high contact and the Bunker subsequently penalised the Dolphins prop, leaving Nine’s commentary team outraged.
“Our game is gone,” Paul Vautin told Nine.
“It’s finished if you are penalising that … what a stitch-up.
“I bet the person who made that call has never stepped foot on a football field.”
The decision from the officials wasn’t enough to deter a late fightback from the Dolphins, with young winger Bostock crossing in the corner and Isaako nailing a penalty goal with less than two minutes remaining to ice the result.
Speaking to Nine post-game, Daly Cherry-Evans admitted his side had received a “wake-up call” over the past week in losses to the Raiders and Dolphins.
“Really disappointing,” he said.
“We’ll definitely look at that period as a pretty influential period. We’d done so much hard work for the first 30 minutes … it was just a real big lapse there.
“It’s obviously a trend in our game that isn’t ideal. I don’t think there is any secret to what it is, it’s our defence, and we’ve got to work on it there.
“It doesn’t get any easier, but there are no easy games in this competition. After this week, it’s a real big wake-up call.”