Why Manly Sea Eagles should be thanking Mal Meninga for Tom Trbojevic’s slick start to the season

“Playing for the Roos definitely gives you confidence. That final against Tonga was unreal. I scored two tries, but should have had another two.

“I thought I played some good games last year, especially at the back end of the season.

“If I don’t play well, people like to blame it on injuries, even if it isn’t entirely true. It was just a really cool way to finish the year.”

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said this week he had noticed Trbojevic grow in confidence with each game, and had become “one of those players automatically selected” in the green and gold when fit. He was hardly shocked to see Trbojevic start the way he did for Manly as a result.

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“The beauty of Tom is he doesn’t care what position he plays – he could play fullback, left or right wing, left or right centre, or even five-eighth,” Meninga said.

“He’s low maintenance, happy to be in camp, has a great footy IQ, and asks a truckload of questions.”

The Sea Eagles travelled to New Zealand on Tuesday ahead of Friday evening’s clash against the Warriors. Manly mixed up their attack against the Cowboys, including getting back-rower Haumole Olakau’atu hitting the line positioned at centre on a couple of occasions, and even spending a set with Luke Brooks and Daly Cherry-Evans posted on the same side of the field.

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