Manly crisis: Is it time to blow up the NRL's most loyal combination?

The best thing for the Trbojevic brothers - Tom and Jake - and the Manly club would be to go their separate ways when the contracts of the two players expire at the end of next season.
Or even earlier, if the right opportunity elsewhere materialised for either player before then.
It's the brothers I'm thinking of, ahead of the club. They've given their all to the Sea Eagles and deserve the opportunity to get the most out of what is left of their careers - financially and also in terms of satisfaction and achievement.
I doubt whether they can get that entire combination at Manly.
Whatever degree of premiership window the Sea Eagles have had in recent years, it's shut now.
The decision by halfback Daly Cherry-Evans to leave the club at the end of this season and his patchy form since announcing that decision, Tom's continued injury problems and Jake having arrived at the veteran stage of his career are major factors there.
When all three have been at the top of their game it has created a false impression of how good the team was as a whole.
Other players looked better through association than what they genuinely were. The holes in the side were still there to see, if you looked closely enough, but now they're obvious for all to see.
There is too much work that needs to be done on the playing squad for Manly to become a major force again in a hurry.
If they can make the finals this season it will be a good result, but even if they did they wouldn't be capable of going far.
Right now, in the week of State of Origin II and when Manly have got a bye in the NRL, the Sea Eagles were still the subjects of unwanted publicity.
It was reported coach Anthony Seibold had one-on-one meetings with his players on Monday, in the wake of back-to-back losses to Newcastle and Gold Coast, and that some players weren't happy with how those meetings were conducted.
Seibold is contracted until the end of 2027 and Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov was quoted saying: "At the moment, 'Seibs' is safe at this point. Seibs understands as well as I do, it's all about winning games. Seibs is safe at this point."
If I were a coach under pressure I think I'd rather hear I had the full support of the board!
Tom and Jake are tremendous people and great club-men and I hope the rest of their careers work out well for them. But for that to happen they should consider all of the available options and not limit themselves.
They've each made it clear they hate the thought of playing against Manly, which only leaves the English Super League in that case.
They should eliminate those thoughts and be open to any opportunities that may be available at other clubs in the NRL as well. Surely the younger Tom would be a target for the new Perth Bears franchise in 2027 if he wanted to be.
And that is despite the obvious gamble over whether he'll continue to be plagued by injury.
It's been reported Mestrov has begun negotiations with the brothers' management about new deals, with the suggestion it might be a one-year deal for Jake, who is now 31, and longer for 28-year-old Tom.
Manly need to rebuild at some stage and must think hard about what the best way into the future might be for the club and whether it includes new deals for Tom and Jake or ending the club's association with them at the end of next season.
Just because it might be best for all parties to move on and have a fresh start. Tom and Jake would still be regarded as Manly greats at the end of their careers and be treated as such by the club's fans. That would never change.
The scheduling of the Warriors v Penrith game for this weekend's NRL round really is ridiculous and Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has every reason to be unhappy about it.
Penrith have in previous years been travelling well enough on the competition table to be able to give their State of Origin players a rest at crucial times, but as Cleary pointed out that was a decision they had the freedom to make either way themselves.
But this week the scheduling of the Warriors-Panthers game on Saturday afternoon in Auckland, less than 72 hours after Penrith's stars had played Origin in Perth, made it ridiculous to even consider them backing up.
So the decision was effectively taken out of Penrith's hands and as Cleary said that simply isn't fair.
MORE NRL NEWS
It will be a stunning result if the in-form Warriors somehow don't win at home against a severely-depleted Panthers outfit and that's why the bookmakers have the home side as $1.25 favourites.
And it is, of course, just another reason why the NRL must look at changing the Origin schedule sooner rather than later so that in future years it doesn't disrupt the NRL competition so much.
Penrith, after winning four straight premierships, have found this season very difficult after the annual loss of star players due to the salary cap biting finally caught up with the club.
But they had battled their way up to ninth place, just one point outside of the top eight, ahead of this round.
IF Melbourne beat South Sydney on Saturday night and Cronulla lose to Brisbane on Sunday we'll be left with a six-point gap between the top four and the rest of the field after this weekend's round.
Not great news for the chasers, even with another 11 rounds to go after this one before the finals.
The best thing for the Trbojevic brothers - Tom and Jake - and the Manly club would be to go their separate ways when the contracts of the two players expire at the end of next season.
Or even earlier, if the right opportunity elsewhere materialised for either player before then.
It's the brothers I'm thinking of, ahead of the club. They've given their all to the Sea Eagles and deserve the opportunity to get the most out of what is left of their careers - financially and also in terms of satisfaction and achievement.
I doubt whether they can get that entire combination at Manly.
Whatever degree of premiership window the Sea Eagles have had in recent years, it's shut now.
The decision by halfback Daly Cherry-Evans to leave the club at the end of this season and his patchy form since announcing that decision, Tom's continued injury problems and Jake having arrived at the veteran stage of his career are major factors there.
When all three have been at the top of their game it has created a false impression of how good the team was as a whole.
Other players looked better through association than what they genuinely were. The holes in the side were still there to see, if you looked closely enough, but now they're obvious for all to see.
There is too much work that needs to be done on the playing squad for Manly to become a major force again in a hurry.
If they can make the finals this season it will be a good result, but even if they did they wouldn't be capable of going far.
Right now, in the week of State of Origin II and when Manly have got a bye in the NRL, the Sea Eagles were still the subjects of unwanted publicity.
It was reported coach Anthony Seibold had one-on-one meetings with his players on Monday, in the wake of back-to-back losses to Newcastle and Gold Coast, and that some players weren't happy with how those meetings were conducted.
Seibold is contracted until the end of 2027 and Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov was quoted saying: "At the moment, 'Seibs' is safe at this point. Seibs understands as well as I do, it's all about winning games. Seibs is safe at this point."
If I were a coach under pressure I think I'd rather hear I had the full support of the board!
Tom and Jake are tremendous people and great club-men and I hope the rest of their careers work out well for them. But for that to happen they should consider all of the available options and not limit themselves.
They've each made it clear they hate the thought of playing against Manly, which only leaves the English Super League in that case.
They should eliminate those thoughts and be open to any opportunities that may be available at other clubs in the NRL as well. Surely the younger Tom would be a target for the new Perth Bears franchise in 2027 if he wanted to be.
And that is despite the obvious gamble over whether he'll continue to be plagued by injury.
It's been reported Mestrov has begun negotiations with the brothers' management about new deals, with the suggestion it might be a one-year deal for Jake, who is now 31, and longer for 28-year-old Tom.
Manly need to rebuild at some stage and must think hard about what the best way into the future might be for the club and whether it includes new deals for Tom and Jake or ending the club's association with them at the end of next season.
Just because it might be best for all parties to move on and have a fresh start. Tom and Jake would still be regarded as Manly greats at the end of their careers and be treated as such by the club's fans. That would never change.
The scheduling of the Warriors v Penrith game for this weekend's NRL round really is ridiculous and Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has every reason to be unhappy about it.
Penrith have in previous years been travelling well enough on the competition table to be able to give their State of Origin players a rest at crucial times, but as Cleary pointed out that was a decision they had the freedom to make either way themselves.
But this week the scheduling of the Warriors-Panthers game on Saturday afternoon in Auckland, less than 72 hours after Penrith's stars had played Origin in Perth, made it ridiculous to even consider them backing up.
So the decision was effectively taken out of Penrith's hands and as Cleary said that simply isn't fair.
MORE NRL NEWS
It will be a stunning result if the in-form Warriors somehow don't win at home against a severely-depleted Panthers outfit and that's why the bookmakers have the home side as $1.25 favourites.
And it is, of course, just another reason why the NRL must look at changing the Origin schedule sooner rather than later so that in future years it doesn't disrupt the NRL competition so much.
Penrith, after winning four straight premierships, have found this season very difficult after the annual loss of star players due to the salary cap biting finally caught up with the club.
But they had battled their way up to ninth place, just one point outside of the top eight, ahead of this round.
IF Melbourne beat South Sydney on Saturday night and Cronulla lose to Brisbane on Sunday we'll be left with a six-point gap between the top four and the rest of the field after this weekend's round.
Not great news for the chasers, even with another 11 rounds to go after this one before the finals.
The best thing for the Trbojevic brothers - Tom and Jake - and the Manly club would be to go their separate ways when the contracts of the two players expire at the end of next season.
Or even earlier, if the right opportunity elsewhere materialised for either player before then.
It's the brothers I'm thinking of, ahead of the club. They've given their all to the Sea Eagles and deserve the opportunity to get the most out of what is left of their careers - financially and also in terms of satisfaction and achievement.
I doubt whether they can get that entire combination at Manly.
Whatever degree of premiership window the Sea Eagles have had in recent years, it's shut now.
The decision by halfback Daly Cherry-Evans to leave the club at the end of this season and his patchy form since announcing that decision, Tom's continued injury problems and Jake having arrived at the veteran stage of his career are major factors there.
When all three have been at the top of their game it has created a false impression of how good the team was as a whole.
Other players looked better through association than what they genuinely were. The holes in the side were still there to see, if you looked closely enough, but now they're obvious for all to see.
There is too much work that needs to be done on the playing squad for Manly to become a major force again in a hurry.
If they can make the finals this season it will be a good result, but even if they did they wouldn't be capable of going far.
Right now, in the week of State of Origin II and when Manly have got a bye in the NRL, the Sea Eagles were still the subjects of unwanted publicity.
It was reported coach Anthony Seibold had one-on-one meetings with his players on Monday, in the wake of back-to-back losses to Newcastle and Gold Coast, and that some players weren't happy with how those meetings were conducted.
Seibold is contracted until the end of 2027 and Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov was quoted saying: "At the moment, 'Seibs' is safe at this point. Seibs understands as well as I do, it's all about winning games. Seibs is safe at this point."
If I were a coach under pressure I think I'd rather hear I had the full support of the board!
Tom and Jake are tremendous people and great club-men and I hope the rest of their careers work out well for them. But for that to happen they should consider all of the available options and not limit themselves.
They've each made it clear they hate the thought of playing against Manly, which only leaves the English Super League in that case.
They should eliminate those thoughts and be open to any opportunities that may be available at other clubs in the NRL as well. Surely the younger Tom would be a target for the new Perth Bears franchise in 2027 if he wanted to be.
And that is despite the obvious gamble over whether he'll continue to be plagued by injury.
It's been reported Mestrov has begun negotiations with the brothers' management about new deals, with the suggestion it might be a one-year deal for Jake, who is now 31, and longer for 28-year-old Tom.
Manly need to rebuild at some stage and must think hard about what the best way into the future might be for the club and whether it includes new deals for Tom and Jake or ending the club's association with them at the end of next season.
Just because it might be best for all parties to move on and have a fresh start. Tom and Jake would still be regarded as Manly greats at the end of their careers and be treated as such by the club's fans. That would never change.
The scheduling of the Warriors v Penrith game for this weekend's NRL round really is ridiculous and Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has every reason to be unhappy about it.
Penrith have in previous years been travelling well enough on the competition table to be able to give their State of Origin players a rest at crucial times, but as Cleary pointed out that was a decision they had the freedom to make either way themselves.
But this week the scheduling of the Warriors-Panthers game on Saturday afternoon in Auckland, less than 72 hours after Penrith's stars had played Origin in Perth, made it ridiculous to even consider them backing up.
So the decision was effectively taken out of Penrith's hands and as Cleary said that simply isn't fair.
MORE NRL NEWS
It will be a stunning result if the in-form Warriors somehow don't win at home against a severely-depleted Panthers outfit and that's why the bookmakers have the home side as $1.25 favourites.
And it is, of course, just another reason why the NRL must look at changing the Origin schedule sooner rather than later so that in future years it doesn't disrupt the NRL competition so much.
Penrith, after winning four straight premierships, have found this season very difficult after the annual loss of star players due to the salary cap biting finally caught up with the club.
But they had battled their way up to ninth place, just one point outside of the top eight, ahead of this round.
IF Melbourne beat South Sydney on Saturday night and Cronulla lose to Brisbane on Sunday we'll be left with a six-point gap between the top four and the rest of the field after this weekend's round.
Not great news for the chasers, even with another 11 rounds to go after this one before the finals.
The best thing for the Trbojevic brothers - Tom and Jake - and the Manly club would be to go their separate ways when the contracts of the two players expire at the end of next season.
Or even earlier, if the right opportunity elsewhere materialised for either player before then.
It's the brothers I'm thinking of, ahead of the club. They've given their all to the Sea Eagles and deserve the opportunity to get the most out of what is left of their careers - financially and also in terms of satisfaction and achievement.
I doubt whether they can get that entire combination at Manly.
Whatever degree of premiership window the Sea Eagles have had in recent years, it's shut now.
The decision by halfback Daly Cherry-Evans to leave the club at the end of this season and his patchy form since announcing that decision, Tom's continued injury problems and Jake having arrived at the veteran stage of his career are major factors there.
When all three have been at the top of their game it has created a false impression of how good the team was as a whole.
Other players looked better through association than what they genuinely were. The holes in the side were still there to see, if you looked closely enough, but now they're obvious for all to see.
There is too much work that needs to be done on the playing squad for Manly to become a major force again in a hurry.
If they can make the finals this season it will be a good result, but even if they did they wouldn't be capable of going far.
Right now, in the week of State of Origin II and when Manly have got a bye in the NRL, the Sea Eagles were still the subjects of unwanted publicity.
It was reported coach Anthony Seibold had one-on-one meetings with his players on Monday, in the wake of back-to-back losses to Newcastle and Gold Coast, and that some players weren't happy with how those meetings were conducted.
Seibold is contracted until the end of 2027 and Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov was quoted saying: "At the moment, 'Seibs' is safe at this point. Seibs understands as well as I do, it's all about winning games. Seibs is safe at this point."
If I were a coach under pressure I think I'd rather hear I had the full support of the board!
Tom and Jake are tremendous people and great club-men and I hope the rest of their careers work out well for them. But for that to happen they should consider all of the available options and not limit themselves.
They've each made it clear they hate the thought of playing against Manly, which only leaves the English Super League in that case.
They should eliminate those thoughts and be open to any opportunities that may be available at other clubs in the NRL as well. Surely the younger Tom would be a target for the new Perth Bears franchise in 2027 if he wanted to be.
And that is despite the obvious gamble over whether he'll continue to be plagued by injury.
It's been reported Mestrov has begun negotiations with the brothers' management about new deals, with the suggestion it might be a one-year deal for Jake, who is now 31, and longer for 28-year-old Tom.
Manly need to rebuild at some stage and must think hard about what the best way into the future might be for the club and whether it includes new deals for Tom and Jake or ending the club's association with them at the end of next season.
Just because it might be best for all parties to move on and have a fresh start. Tom and Jake would still be regarded as Manly greats at the end of their careers and be treated as such by the club's fans. That would never change.
The scheduling of the Warriors v Penrith game for this weekend's NRL round really is ridiculous and Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has every reason to be unhappy about it.
Penrith have in previous years been travelling well enough on the competition table to be able to give their State of Origin players a rest at crucial times, but as Cleary pointed out that was a decision they had the freedom to make either way themselves.
But this week the scheduling of the Warriors-Panthers game on Saturday afternoon in Auckland, less than 72 hours after Penrith's stars had played Origin in Perth, made it ridiculous to even consider them backing up.
So the decision was effectively taken out of Penrith's hands and as Cleary said that simply isn't fair.
MORE NRL NEWS
It will be a stunning result if the in-form Warriors somehow don't win at home against a severely-depleted Panthers outfit and that's why the bookmakers have the home side as $1.25 favourites.
And it is, of course, just another reason why the NRL must look at changing the Origin schedule sooner rather than later so that in future years it doesn't disrupt the NRL competition so much.
Penrith, after winning four straight premierships, have found this season very difficult after the annual loss of star players due to the salary cap biting finally caught up with the club.
But they had battled their way up to ninth place, just one point outside of the top eight, ahead of this round.
IF Melbourne beat South Sydney on Saturday night and Cronulla lose to Brisbane on Sunday we'll be left with a six-point gap between the top four and the rest of the field after this weekend's round.
Not great news for the chasers, even with another 11 rounds to go after this one before the finals.

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