Don’t write off ‘not normal’ Trbojevic: coach Seibold

Murray Wenzel | May 4, 2023

Anthony Seibold thinks he could lift more weight than Jake Trbojevic in the gym, but the Manly coach reckons he’s never seen an athlete like the Sea Eagles forward.

Trbojevic will miss Friday’s NRL Magic Round clash with Brisbane due to a calf injury that’s forecast to keep him sidelined for a month and rule him out of the first State of Origin.

But Trbojevic is “not a normal player” according to Seibold, who says he throws numbers out of the window when it comes to his workhorse NSW prop.

“Possibly; you just don’t know with Jake,” Seibold said of Trbojevic’s likelihood of recovering in time for the May 31 clash in Adelaide.

“I say this in the right manner, he’s not a normal player. He does things others can’t or don’t.

“With due respect, in the gym Jakey doesn’t lift much. I can probably out-lift Jake.

“In the fitness test he’s just okay, but in the game he’s incredible and it’s all in his mind.

“I don’t think I’ve seen anybody like him (with) his determination, grit.”

Trbojevic played the second half of the Sea Eagles’ loss to Gold Coast last week with the injury he thought was cramp.

He’s already told Blues coach Brad Fittler he’ll be fit in two weeks, and Seibold admitted players like Trbojevic ensure pure statistics are not enough when it comes to coaching.

“You have a gut feel as a coach,” he said.

“Numbers are the numbers and coaches look at it, but one thing you can’t measure is the determination and that’s what you can’t measure in Jake.”