Tom Trbojevic was a Legend

[TheSoaringEagle2023]

Dennis Lillie anyone
Never knock a champion
They have a habit of making you eat your words
Closed mouth swallows no foot
Astounded that some think turbo is washed up
BTW
The great Snakes non involve in coaching this year has not been coincidental in our attacking or defensive decline
Snake had a football brain that directed the spine and orders from the back that were never ignored
We miss Snake time at training and fame day

I don't think anyone's knocking him. He's had a decent career. His injuries is indicative of where he's at.

 

[Eagle 1]

Still like Tom as our FB, I'm prepared to give Tom the time he needs to get his running game back to where it was or close to his 2021 form. Let's give Tom the solid pre season he needs, to me it's just a confidence thing, get this back and everything will fall into place.

 

[Uk eagle]

I still think many people are writing Tom off prematurely. He is still our best full back. He is still our most potent attacking weapon. He is still the player with the highest footy IQ. He is playing with a team which is 80% nobody's or old men, it doesn't matter how good he is he can't do everything. Don't give up on him yet, he's an absolute champion.

 

[manlyfan76]

I wonder how his health would be if he didn't play origin and tests and used that time to recover.

We will never know.

 

[nightster]

Tom is only 28 - lets hope he can get back to somewhere close to his 2021 form, but his injuries have taken a toll physically and mentally , he needs a really long recuperative off season

 

[MissKate]

Most players try and play out of their skin when playing for a contract, why not Tom

 

[manlyfan76]

Most players try and play out of their skin when playing for a contract, why not Tom

Playing for a downgrade?

 

[nightster]

Most players try and play out of their skin when playing for a contract, why not Tom

as I said I believe his injuries have taken a toll physically and mentally

 

[MissKate]

as I said I believe his injuries have taken a toll physically and mentally

Then he really needs to push for what is best for him and the club that he professes to love. Which might mean no extension or a much reduced extension.

I just get the feeling right now that the club is being emotionally blackmailed into a contract extension that is def not best for the club and is most probably not achievable for Tom to fulfill

 

[Fred]

I for one am backing the Turbomeister to come good. I agree with some of the sentiment saying 'holding back', 'not letting loose', afraid to get injured etc.. Can hardly blame him. I think he, among others are disillusioned with DCE, the coach and lack of forward mongrel. We just aren't matching teams up front. The backs are more than good enough, DCE aside. Be nice if Saab learned to catch too...

 

[XV-1]

I for one am backing the Turbomeister to come good. I agree with some of the sentiment saying 'holding back', 'not letting loose', afraid to get injured etc.. Can hardly blame him. I think he, among others are disillusioned with DCE, the coach and lack of forward mongrel. We just aren't matching teams up front. The backs are more than good enough, DCE aside. Be nice if Saab learned to catch too...

100% agree. He will come good just in time to be selected for the Kangaroo tour.
Unfortunately for Manly, far too late for us.

 

[LeonardCohen]

Tom needs the burst of speed to be destructive and he has lost it. He’s still a smart footballer and can be effective, but that’s not the same thing as destructive.

 

[Brookie1973]

Tom needs the burst of speed to be destructive and he has lost it. He’s still a smart footballer and can be effective, but that’s not the same thing as destructive.

I suspect the speed is still there, but he is mentally scarred by previous injuries and doesn’t want to risk another hammy, so is holding back. Probably understandable, given another bad injury would likely be career ending. Still a very good first grader, but nowhere near 2021 form. Will it return, who knows?

 

[PONTIAN SEA EAGLE]

Dce used to set up the plays in attack which involved tom coming up the line to either score or set up the tries.Once daly packer got greedy with money all this ended.

 

[HK_Eagle]

Tom needs the burst of speed to be destructive and he has lost it. He’s still a smart footballer and can be effective, but that’s not the same thing as destructive.

We need to be smart in our plan using him moving forward and shrewd in what we pay him. At the right price and right role, he is certainly worth retaining. Im happy with Mestrov’s read on DCE largely… I hope he is as tuned in with Turbo (and his brother).

 

[Loyal Eagle]

Trbo post hammy tears worked with the physio in the states.. unfortunately, that changed his biomechanics and likely resulted in a loss in his ‘speed acceleration’ (Koula has this in spades) This edge helped Trbo (with his footy IQ and size) break tackles and made him unique.

A key to sprinting, is maximizing stride length and optimal contact time with ground to generate explosive power. Watch Usain Bolt out of the blocks, wasn’t great until speed endurance kicked in (similar to Saab) I would like to see Trbo speed timing gate (acceleration) data pre and post USA adventure. Surely he could tag along, to the Fabri sprint school, in the pre season with Saab and recapture that edge… off season sprinting rather than conditioning could recapture his best footy. We miss Trbo being Trbo…

 

[Tragic Eagle]

Tom is not the first player who's body cut short their success, names such as Nick Kosef and Johnny Gibbs come to mind. Tom has had a great career but for the injuries that have kept him off the filed for long periods of time. I'd love nothing more than to see Tom back to his best but the longer he stays at his present form the less likely it is going to happen. A lot of it is psychological and those issues for Tommy come as no surprise. Survival is a natural instinct and he would want to prolong his career for as long as he can. Can't see him in top form again until he throws caution to the wind.

 

[Dingo]

Haven’t read too much in this thread so I do apologise if I’m saying things that have been discussed or if this is off topic, but I did see mention of Turbo’s confidence being a killer and you’re absolutely right. I honestly think that Tommy’s form these days is based purely on confidence rather than his body’s abilities now. I think media attention regarding his constant injuries and guilt around not playing despite being on big money hinders him. Seriously, when he looks confident and isn’t worrying about potentially injuring himself, he is still incredibly dangerous (round 1 this year is an example of that, look at the Bullemor try in particular, that was 2021-type stuff).

You see so often now that he’s lost all of his strength, it’s all a mental game with him. You don’t just go from being able to power through defenders to being hammered over the sideline almost every time so quick. When he runs towards the sidelines he falls almost as soon as he’s touched, his hit ups in our end not nearly as effective as they once were.

I noticed when he was on 100% footy earlier this year, Gus questioned him about how long he’s got left and he looked doubtful and unsure. He even agreed to questioning if it’s all worth it getting constant injuries. Then as soon as Gus began to praise how good he is and how he probably hasn’t even reached his best yet, his body language completely shifted and he immediately looked happier.

The constant attention he gets in the media after every injury no doubt limits his abilities. I mean, of course he doesn’t want another injury not only because it’s an injury but because he’s been having to tell people his body feels fine every single interview and he doesn’t want all of that retirement and glass ones talk to return. He’s going to hold back heaps to avoid that. Some positive media attention on how good Turbo is playing I honestly feel would improve his game, call me crazy. But at the same time, he needs to play well and with confidence to get that.

It’s a shame really, when he’s on he might be the best fullback in the game and one of the best in the game period. He legit took a side from last place to a prelim final, not many do it. Expectations got set extremely high that year though, probably too high.

I’m not sure if or when we see the full confidence Turbo again, but his stint at centre appears to have helped it just a little, at least he’s running again.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Personally I think the eulogies for Tom in this thread are premature. He's a champion player and while he may not have another season like 2021, I expect he's got plenty of top footy left in him still.

 

[Eagles4Life]

Personally I think the eulogies for Tom in this thread are premature. He's a champion player and while he may not have another season like 2021, I expect he's got plenty of top footy left in him still.

I agree @SeaEagleRock8 but I don't think his best position is at fullback. I am not sure centre is the answer either. Perhaps it's almost time to consider bringing him off the bench in a Dylan Walker type role (60 minutes) to decrease his work rate and maximise his attacking effectiveness for the longer term?