Written by Oliver Kellner-Dunk
Last weekend the Manly Sea Eagles superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic went down with a hamstring injury that will result in him sitting on the sidelines for up to ten weeks.
Trbojevic has been the Manly’s best player so far in 2020, with the New South Wales representative leading the Dally M Medal race after round five.
This begs the question of can the Sea Eagles maintain their current form without Tommy Turbo?
In 2019, the 23-year-old only appeared in 12 of Manly’s 26 games due to injury and the club still managed to finish 6th with a 15-11 record.
During this time we witnessed the transformation of Brendan Elliot.
Traditionally a centre or winger, Elliot had big shoes to fill last year by replacing the injured Trbojevic.
At first he seemed like an odd choice for the fullback role, however would repay the faith coach Des Hasler had in him and filled the void left by the Australian International.
Elliot has recently spoke about his move to the role and the impact Des Hasler has had on his development.
“The reason I feel my game has come a long way since arriving at the club has a lot to do with Des Hasler.” Elliot told Everything Rugby League.
“I’ve said it openly that he is the best coach I have ever played under. He has so much experience and his coaching style is like no other.”
A confident Brendan Elliot is excited about playing full-back again against the @Cronulla_Sharks this Sunday
📹- https://t.co/G0XC1vCfWI#ManlyForever pic.twitter.com/0ctG7IAFsg
— Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (@SeaEagles) June 24, 2020
This Sunday the 26-year-old will have another opportunity to prove his worth at the Sea Eagles by once again filling in for an injured Tom Trbojevic against the Sharks.
If Trbojevic is out for a full ten weeks, the Sea Eagles will have to face the Sharks, Knights, Dragons, Eels, Cowboys, Panthers, Warriors, Knights, Rabbitohs and Storm without him.
It is also important to keep in mind that Lachlan Crocker will also be coming in for an injured Dylan Walker who is suspected to be out for six weeks with a foot injury.
Although they don’t have the easiest run of games coming up, they should be able to manage without Trbojevic and Walker and come away with a few victories.
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