As a proud Manly junior, Jake Trbojevic wants to enjoy that special feeling of playing finals footy for his beloved Sea Eagles.
A product of the Mona Vale Raiders, the Manly vice-captain says the time is right for the Sea Eagles to return to finals football after missing out in the past two years by beating Penrith at Lottoland this Saturday.
Manly and Penrith sit on 30 points with the Panthers in sixth place and Manly in eighth position heading into the final round of the Telstra Premiership. Nth Qld Cowboys (seventh) are also on 30 points with St George-Illawarra Dragons in ninth place on 28 points.
“We’ve missed out on the finals for the past couple of years and it’s been disappointing,’’ Trbojevic said.
“To have a chance to be there is exciting for the club and the fans. It should be a really good crowd (at Lottoland) and hopefully we can put on a good performance. We would love to be there (in the finals) for the club and the local area.
“Playing for Manly, it’s been really tough the last few years not being in the finals. It would definitely mean a lot to not only myself, but the whole team.”
The NSW and Australian forward said the team was looking forward to building on their win over the Warriors on Sunday to end a two game losing streak to keep their finals hopes alive.
“Hopefully we can play some good footy off the back of it and just put our best foot forward,’’ Trbojevic said.
“It has been a tough couple of weeks. You fall into a bit of a rut when you’re losing at times. But to come away with a win was really special and really exciting and everyone was pretty pumped up.
“Hopefully we can feed off that energy and work really hard this week and come out with a really good performance on Saturday.”
Sea Eagles supporters are encouraged to pre-purchase their tickets now for what will be a huge afternoon at Lottoland for the final home game of the season.
Prior to the NRL kick-off, a lap of honour and presentation will be held for Sea Eagles club greats Brett Stewart, Steve Matai, and Matt Ballin. Stewart and Ballin have confirmed their attendance.
The match also sees the final home game for Manly prop Brenton Lawrence after joining the Sea Eagles in 2013 from the Gold Coast Titans where he will return to next season.
The Sea Eagles NRL team will do a lap of honour around Lottoland following the match to thank Members and fans for their fantastic support this season.
Pre-purchase tickets here for Penrith game
Buy tickets here for the Sea Eagles Awards Night on September 4
