‘Just not true’: Sea Eagles hit back at claims they tried to force Tom Trbojevic to take pay cut

Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold has hit back at claims the club encouraged superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic to sacrifice a large chunk of his salary over the next two seasons as a way to pay them back for the games he’s missed while out injured.

It emerged earlier in the week that Trbojevic had offered to essentially hand back $750,000 over the next two years having missed so much footy through injury, with his teammates not surprised to hear that the local junior wanted to help the club out.

“I talked to Seibs (Seibold) about it and we had a chat to the management team here. We explored a few options but it wasn’t meant to be,” Trbojevic said on Tuesday.

But what was supposed to be a gesture of goodwill has been questioned by people who are convinced it was the club’s idea so Manly could free up some cash to spend on other players.

The move was swiftly blocked by the NRL, and Seibold is angry that the story got out and people have questioned the motives of one of the game’s biggest stars who is back to his best after suffering another hamstring injury earlier in the year.

“It’s very disappointing to hear some people question ‘Turbo’s’ integrity or the integrity of the club,” he said.

“Turbo came to me and said that he wanted to take a pay cut because he felt like he’d missed a whole heap of football.

“It was a really difficult conversation for him to come to the coach and say that. That’s all been buried, the NRL have said that he can’t do that.

“I just think that says so much about his character (to make the offer).

“I was quite disappointed that was expressed in the media. I think those types of things should be played out in private.

“I think the integrity around people questioning that it was the club who had the conversation with Turbo is just not true.”

The former Dally M Medal winner will play his 150th NRL game against the Bulldogs on Friday, with Trbojevic back to his brilliant best having scored nine tries and set up 10 in his six games at fullback since returning from his latest injury.

That injury ruled him out of the entire State of Origin series, with some questioning whether he should move to centre and if he’d ever get back to his best after so many disruptions.

“Meeting him for the first time back in 2016, when I coached that year as an assistant here, he had a ton of ability,” Seibold said.

“But why I thought he’d go so far in the game was just because of his work ethic and how diligent he is and was as a professional.

“It’s probably not uncommon for all players to have some doubt in periods of time, whether it’s due to a lack of form or injury or any other challenges.

“Turbo’s not immune to that, (but) I’ve never had a doubt that he’d come back and be at his very best.“