Not up to standard: Townsend pans Trbojevic after dismal display

After the Sea-Eagles’ 0-3 start to the season, Jimmy Smith and Chad Townsend have criticised the performance of Manly’s most experienced player on their roster.

In Daly Cherry-Evans' first game against his old side on Thursday night, the Sea-Eagles were well and truly beaten by the Roosters.  

Losing 33-16 at Brookvale Oval, the Tricolours dominated possession with their forward pack generating far more run metres compared to Manly’s.

One Sea-Eagles forward that struggled in particular was Jake Trbojevic, as noted by Smith.

 “46 minutes last night, two carries, 17 metres, 23 tackles and no misses,” he told SEN’s Kick Off.

“But here’s the one, Jake is really important in the middle of the field and what he does for the team.

“He had nine receipts for seven passes. He’s not doing it that often.

“That’s nowhere near what a Cam Murray or an Isaah Yeo or even a Victor Radley would do when he gets back into the Roosters.”

Following that, Townsend proceeded to compare the output that the 32-year-old has produced so far with his performance from just four years ago.

This left him wondering whether Trbojevic is living up to his reported $1.1 million contract.

“We hear a lot of the discussion around Jake and his output for the money he’s on this season and what his future looks like,” Townsend added.

“In Rounds 1-4 in 2023, so a couple of years ago. They had a bye in those first four weeks as well.

“In Round 1-4, he ran for 107 metres on 80 minutes, 148 metres on 80 minutes and 74 metres on 60 minutes.

“So, he averaged 109 metres with the ball in the opening three games of 2023.

“We compare that to the opening three games in 2026. You mentioned his game last night, 17 metres.

“In Round 1 (against the Raiders), he ran for 52 metres, and then in Round 2 (against the Knights), he ran for 23 metres.

“In the opening three games, he’s averaged 30 metres with the ball.”

That led the 2016 NRL Premiership player to conclude Trbojevic is currently not up to the league’s standard.

“There’s questions that need to be asked around his output,” he continued.

“At the end of the day, in the NRL, it happened to me; it happens to everyone.

“You have to be made accountable for how you play. We are in the business of winning football games and getting your job done on the field.

“If you don’t get your job done, then you have to be accountable and answer questions as to why it hasn’t been done.

“It’s probably not up to his standard or the standard of the NRL right now.”

The Sea-Eagles will look to turn the ship on their winless start when they kick off Round 5 against the Dolphins.

They’ll play each other at Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe on Thursday.

SEN will have live coverage of the match beginning from 7pm AEDT with the Bunnings Build Up.

That can be heard across SEN's radio network and on the SEN app.