NSW skipper Jake Trbojevic may bleed Blue but not even Queenslanders can hate him

He has been dubbed the nicest man in the NRL, MICHAEL CARAYANNIS speaks with those who know the NSW Origin skipper best to find out just who is Jake Trbojevic.

Embargoed for The Daily Telegraph 28.5.2024 Jake Trbojevic. Westpac NSW Blues open media day. Full State of Origin team photo. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Sometimes the nice guy can finish first.

Jake Trbojevic – arguably the most likeable player in the NRL – has been branded a player not even the Queenslanders could hate.

The self-confessed stress-head was more worried about being picked in Michael Maguire’s first Origin team let alone being named captain. Michael Carayannis speaks to Trbojevic and those close to him as he becomes just the 21st person to captain the Blues come Wednesday night.

THE CALL

Such is Trbojevic’s way he was fearing the worst when his phone rang on Sunday.

He just wanted to be in the team. And then the news hit him that he would be leading the state for the first time.

“I was walking with my fiancee Alex and she said I went white when I was told I was captain,” Jake said with his trademark enthusiasm.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked and probably like yourself I didn’t expect it. I am just hoping my love for the Blues and the game comes through.”

Manly teammate and Queenslander counterpart Daly Cherry-Evans was among the first to reach out to congratulate him. So too did former skipper James Tedesco.

Somehow between now and kick-off, Trbojevic will need to try and find some calm.

“It’s something I have to work on,” Trbojevic said.

“I’ve got better at putting things into perspective. As big as the NRL is at the end of the day it’s just a game. There is so much more to life.

“I don’t go onto the field like that but I try and tell myself that if things aren’t going well.”

The first people he called were his parents Melissa and John. Brother Tom happened to be with their parents when the phone rang and said it was a surreal moment.

“I got a bit emotional,” Tom said. “So was did. It took us a bit off guard but it means a lot to the family. He deserves it.”

EARLY SIGNS OF MAROONS HATRED

State of Origin time in the Trbojevic household was always an event.

Long before her boys took centre stage at rugby league’s showpiece, their mum Melissa said they used to huddle around the television cheering passionately for their state.

“They would print out pictures of the Origin players and stick it on the sliding doors,” Melissa said. “My dad (Peter) used to stir them up and wear a Queensland jersey.

“Jake had the same passion as he does now when he was playing for Mona Vale. If we ever took footy away from him it would’ve been like cutting off his arm.

“He was quite shy and stood around most of his first session when started at seven. Then he’d get a bit closer and closer. He just lived and breathed it.

Jake Trbojevic in his junior days. Credit: Supplied.

“Football was their favourite TV show.

“Our week has always been defined by whether the boys won or lost.

“If they won it was all good but if they lost we weren’t allowed to watch any of the footy shows. He is much better now.

“He still doesn’t enjoy the losses but he is a lot better than what he was.”

Jake will take some time out on Wednesday just hours before kick-off to speak with his family.

“I’ll call him about 3pm,” Melissa said. “We will be texting in the morning but we will tell him to go out there and be the best he can be. We’re proud of him whatever happens.

“Jake has always been a gorgeous kid with a big heart. You couldn’t help but love him.”

THE BROTHER, THE TEAMMATE

As much as Jake has gotten better at controlling his emotions he still wears losses hard.

The days of staying housebound after defeats may be long gone but according to Tom there is still that intensity which sits with Jake.

“He just hates losing,” Tom said. “Even now at Manly we are asked to make sure we thank our fans after a loss. You will never see Jake on the field after a loss. He is so disappointed.

Tom Trbojevic and Jake Trbojevic. The Trbojevic brothers regularly help out with junior club Mona Vale Raiders. Credit: Supplied.

“The nerves are something he will have to manage. He is a passionate guy.

“I’ve had to tell him sometimes that – ‘Jake, it’s just a game’.

“Him and (younger brother) Ben are so similar. Ben will be worried about something and then Jake will be wigging out that’s Ben’s wigging out.”

THE SHADOW

Aaron Woods and David Klemmer were inseparable when it came to representative camps. The pair quickly picked up a third wheel of when Jake started following them around as he started to crack the NSW and Australian sides.

“He would show the senior players so much respect,” Woods, who now plays alongside Jake at Manly said. “He’d put himself last on the massage time lists. He never wanted to throw anyone else out.

“We’d get in trouble for something minor and Jake would be stressing out because he had never gotten into trouble his whole life.

“When he started playing for Australia he was an emu – guys who wouldn’t play the Tests.

“There was a rule that if you were an emu you’d have to go out the night before the game and have a big night on the drink. He absolutely hated it and just wanted to be part of the 18 or 19 man squad so he wouldn’t have to drink any more.”

Aaron Woods, Jake Trbojevic and David Klemmer representing Australia during a Four Nations tournament in England. Credit: Supplied.

FINAL MESSAGE

Tom has heard Jake lay down the law a few times. During halftime in Las Vegas, where the Sea Eagles led 12-10 against South Sydney, Jake was frustrated.

“Chez (Cherry-Evans) is our captain,” Tom said. “He and Jake are very different. Chez is very calming and articulate. When Jake talks at halftime it’s like holy sh*t everyone wants to get out there and play. That’s how passionate he is.

“He has great halftime speeches. They are motivational. In Las Vegas he told us, ‘We’d come all this way, we have this opportunity, why can’t we go out there and do this’.”

Woods added: “He will be really quiet just before the warm-up.

“He is not a big talker in the warm-up but just before the team huddle he will go bonkers. And then at halftime he will go bonkers.

“He will be talking with his hands and spit coming out of his lips and down his chin – as long as there isn’t a fresh cut on it …. and after the game he will look like he has gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson.”

Originally published as NSW skipper Jake Trbojevic may bleed Blue but not even Queenslanders can hate him