‘Done absolutely nothing’: Blues coach defends captain call
NSW skipper Jake Trbojevic has copped a wave of criticism surrounding his captaincy of the side after playing just 83 minutes in the series.
NSW coach Michael Maguire has come out in defence of his decision to make Jake Trbojevic after the skipper was pulled from the field just 23 minutes into Wednesday night’s decider.
Trbojevic’s short performance in the Blues 14-4 win brought his total minutes to 83 out of the 240-minute series, with fans taking to social media to express their confusion with the decision.
“Jake Trbojevic is the luckiest skipper we’ve ever had. Done absolutely nothing the whole series and will lift the shield,” one fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Jake Trbojevic is that kid who does nothing in the group assignment but still gets an A,” another said.
However, Maguire was quick to defend his captain in the post-game press conference, praising Trbojevic’s for his impact on the team off the field.
“People probably ask – I had a lot of you guys actually ask – about Jake being captain,” the first-year Blues coach said.
“It’s the glue, it’s the special parts in and around the team that people don’t get to see.
“I wanted Jake as our captain because of his character, the players love him – they just had another special moment in there where they all cheered him.
“I felt Jake was the man that I wanted to run the team, so it was nice to see.”
Post-game, the Manly vice-captain said captaining the Blues would be a “highlight” of his career.
“It feels pretty cool, I’m just really excited for everyone. It was a lot of hard work that went into this campaign and you’ve got to give credit to Madge and all the staff,” he said.
“It’s a real good life experience for us all and everyone bought into it. The way they went after the game today was impressive … they were just outstanding.”
It didn’t take long for fans to begin speculating about who they would like to see captain the Blues next year – with Stephen Crichton proving a frontrunner.
“Could definitely see Stephen Crichton as future Blues captain, always stands up in the big games,” one X user wrote.
“From what I saw on and off the field tonight, Stephen Crichton gotta be the Blues captain long term,” another said.
‘It’s an OK pass’: NRL weighs in on controversial call
Roosters coach Trent Robinson blew up after losing a crucial try to a forward pass call last Friday and the NRL’s football boss has had his say on the ruling.
Tedesco’s warning to JWH ahead of return
The Roosters were well beaten in the middle by Penrith, but the return of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves should fix that as long as he doesn’t lose his cool.
‘Stuffed it up’: Truth about Manly’s dazzling scrum play
Luke Brooks can now call himself a finals winner, with the Sea Eagles star revealing the scrum play for Daly Cherry-Evans’ try has never come off at training.