Manly star Tom Trbojevic’s finals campaign is in grave doubt after he suffered a shoulder injury late in their boilover win over the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium on Friday night.
A bruised, battered and bloodied Trbojevic was taken from the field in the 64th minute of the 34-22 triumph with a suspected AC joint injury to his right shoulder.
His 2022 season ended abruptly after seven games when he dislocated his left shoulder and after a luckless run of hamstring and pectoral injuries, the 27-year-old fullback had been in strong form lately to give Manly hope that they can do some damage in the finals.
Their win over Canterbury in front of a bumper crowd of 35,502 lifts the Sea Eagles to one point behind the Bulldogs and Cowboys heading into the final round on the ladder.
Manly can leapfrog one of those two teams, who face off with each other next Saturday, when they host Cronulla on the last Sunday of the regular season to finish in sixth spot and earn a home elimination final.
But they will be at long odds to make any noise in the playoffs if Trbojevic is sidelined.
He will get scans on Saturday and his best-case scenario appears to be a chance of being available to play in the finals.
Tom Trbojevic is assisted off Accor Stadium. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Trbojevic copped a heavy blow to his left leg in the first half with a last-ditch tackle on Viliame Kikau close to the line and he also suffered a head wound in the incident which ended his night early.
He took down Bulldogs forward Jacob Preston but teammate Luke Brooks came in to complete the tackle over the top and his body weight landed on Trbojevic’s arm as he was on the turf.
Tolu Koula is the likely candidate to fill in at fullback if Trbojevic is out of action next week and into the finals.
Manly conceded an early try to Reed Mahoney but put together their best performance of the season to fly to a 24-12 lead at half-time and kick on for a 12-point victory margin which flattered the Dogs after two late tries when the result was beyond doubt.
Sea Eagles winger Jason Saab limped off with a syndesmosis injury after a hip drop tackle by Bronson Xerri, who is likely to face a suspension, while opposing speedster Josh Addo-Carr suffered an ankle problem in the first half but soldiered on for the rest of the match.
Luke Brooks’ chances of finally ending his 11-year playoff drought are also under a cloud after he was placed on report for a lifting tackle on Preston.
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