Manly enforcer Jake Trbojevic continues to insist the giant-killing Sea Eagles aren’t proven top-four contenders, pointing to their lack of NRL finals experience.
With three games to play in the regular season, Des Hasler’s team have been the fairytale story of the competition, brushing off expectations to sit fourth.
While brimming with self belief, Trbojevic points out the Sea Eagles have been to the finals just once since 2015 and most of the squad aren’t experienced September campaigners.
While a NSW and Australia representative, Trbojevic has only played one finals game.
He said Melbourne, Sydney Roosters, Canberra and South Sydney were better placed than the Sea Eagles.
“That’s going to be the biggest test for us; we haven’t had a lot of experience in finals the last few years, those teams have,” Trbojevic said.
“That’s going to be something we’re going to have to learn.
“We’ve got Dessy there who’s very experienced in finals footy, so hopefully he can lead us really well and we can get a few wins there.”
A second bite of the cherry is within reach but Manly face an acid test over the next fortnight with match-ups against third-placed Canberra and leaders Melbourne before finishing the regular season against fellow top-four contenders Parramatta.
Asked if they felt like a top-four team yet, Trbojevic said: “Probably not.
“The Storm, Roosters, Canberra, Rabbitohs, they’ve been up there the whole year.
“We’ve only just snuck in there on for-and-against right now. We probably haven’t done it consistently.
“Those teams are still the benchmark right now.
“It’s good to put ourselves in a position to compete with them in the back end of the year.”
Trbojevic said the Sea Eagles would need to learn quick how to adapt to big games and expected to get an early test over the next two weeks.
“The pace of the game goes to another level; it hits you really quick, you get bigger crowds so there’s a lot of energy there,” Trbojevic said.
“It’s about getting off to a good start, trying to be build pressure, you can’t be too inconsistent, you’ve got to be really patient and points come at the back end of the half.”
