Star Sea Eagles winger Jorge Taufua apologises to coach Trent Barrett for ‘letting him down’

SEA Eagles winger Jorge Taufua has revealed he apologised to coach Trent Barrett for letting him down in Sunday’s 31-24 defeat by Penrith.

Manly’s Jorge Taufua takes on the Penrith defence on Sunday. Picture: Getty Images.

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SEA Eagles winger Jorge Taufua has revealed he apologised to coach Trent Barrett for letting him down in Sunday’s 31-24 defeat by Penrith at Brookvale Oval.

The powerhouse back opened up in the wake of the loss to the Panthers when Barrett said the team currently can’t play for 80 minutes, after surrendering a 24-4 lead.

“It hurts to hear it, but it had to be said,” Taufua said.

“Hopefully we can pull our heads in and put in that 80-minute performance this week (against Gold Coast on Monday night).”

Jorge Taufua in action against the Bulldogs earlioer this season. Picture: Mark Evans

Last Sunday was Taufua’s comeback after six weeks on the sideline with a broken collarbone, which required surgery. But things did not pan out as he would have liked.

“I told Trent after the game I felt I let him down and also the team personally,” Taufua said. “I also thanked him for letting me return.

“I think we owe it to not only him but ourselves and especially our fans that we can turn the season around fairly quickly.”

Taufua said this year he has learnt that Barrett was a really good person as well as a coach.

“He really cares about your off-field life,” Taufua said.

“Once he knows you are happy off the field, it brings out the good footy in you.”

The Sea Eagles are still only four wins behind third spot on the ladder and Taufua doesn’t believe it will take much to turn things around.

“I think we just need to get that one win and, hopefully, that can produce some more positive energy from us and hopefully we can get a couple back-to-back,” Taufua said.