State of Origin 2018: Blues Jake and Tom Trbojevic still live at home — and their parents pay a fortune in grocery bills
IF you thought Jake and Tom Trbojevic were hungry for a State of Origin clean sweep, wait until you see the damage they do to the family food budget at the supermarket. Put it this way, they need two trolleys.
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FEEDING Jake and Tom Trbojevic is an expensive exercise, especially when they live at home and don’t even pay board.
The Blues brothers are hungry to deliver NSW a 3-0 series whitewash in Wednesday’s State of Origin match at Suncorp Stadium.
But they’ll return home on Thursday, where their mum, Melissa Trbojevic, pays a whopping $700 a week for groceries.
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Mrs Trbojevic this week revealed to The Daily Telegraph the shopping receipts she racks up in a week feeding her husband John and her footy playing sons Jake, Tom, Luke and Ben.
“About $700,” Melissa said of her weekly shopping spend.
“There is a lot of food, lot of shopping, lot of cooking. The trolley is full of meat, chicken, vegetables, fruit and a bit junk food, more for the younger ones.”
The cheeky pair have even swapped a night of cooking instead of paying board.
“No, they don’t (pay board) — but that’s why they cook. That’s their thing,” Melissa said.
Not that she’s looking for Jake, 24, or Tom, 21, to move out of their Mona Vale home anytime soon.
“We miss them when they’re away,” Melissa said. “We’re lucky. The kids all get on well, it’s really nice.”
Melissa and John will be in Brisbane for the match at Suncorp Stadium.
“The boys (Tom and Jake) cook one night a week when they’re home but they haven’t been home much lately,” Melissa said.
“They buy the food and work out what we’re having, which is good.
“Normally we shop at Woolies or Aldi. They will go and buy what they are cooking.
“Jake quite likes the slow cooker. He might do a pulled pork or something like that. Tom would tend to go with some sort of pasta.”
Asked did he pay board, Jake laughed: “Our parents look after us. Tom is worth more than me. Get into him.”
Tom replied: “No way.”
Jake admitted he enjoyed a big meal but threw some blame onto John, who was well-known as a local A grade player with Narrabeen in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
“My old man rips in too,” Jake said. “Growing up, we loved hooking into our food. Dad loves feeding us too.
“I’m pretty hopeless (at cooking). I throw it in the slow cooker because it’s easy. You come back and it’s done. You don’t have to do anything. Tom is actually getting pretty good at cooking. He’s going all right — it’s good for us, we learn a bit.
“People like Tom, he is trying to gain weight so you’ve got to eat a lot, especially during the pre-season because you do a lot of training.”
Tom said it was “good fun” being at the family home.
“We have a big family — there are six of us,” Tom said. “All the kids are boys, it’s pretty big so we do like to eat a lot. It’s good fun at home.
“We help out a bit. I kind of throw things in a bowl and see what happens. Mum and Dad help out so you get a bit better each time.
“I do like a bit of pasta. Jake is more steak and vegies. I like to mix it up a bit. If there is nothing at home, we will go down to the supermarket. Cleaning is the worst bit but I do enjoy cooking.’
Originally published as State of Origin 2018: Blues Jake and Tom Trbojevic still live at home — and their parents pay a fortune in grocery bills
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