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<\/p>\nManly captain Daly Cherry-Evans said that losing star fullback Tom Trbojevic for the start of the year will not be as devastating as it was in the 2020 season.<\/p>\n
"At times we didn't play well without him, so that's created a bit of a stigma there I reckon, but I think we're better prepared for it," he told Wide World of Sports at the 2021 season launch on Thursday.<\/p>\n
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Trbojevic injured his hamstring a fortnight ago<\/a>, and will miss the opening few rounds.<\/p>\n "We have a chance to prepare. In a way we're lucky it didn't happen in round one so we've got a genuine chance to train without him.<\/p>\n "There's not many, but that's one of the only silver linings."<\/p>\n After playing just seven games in 2020, there has been some suggestion of moving the star fullback to the centres, where he could preserve his body more – an idea Cherry-Evans rejected.<\/p>\n "I understand where people are coming from, it's not a stupid idea – but I've seen first-hand the impact he has at fullback and I'm more than happy for him to stay there.<\/p>\n MORE NRL NEWS:<\/strong> Munster backs Smith to keep playing<\/a><\/p>\n "The best thing we can do is do the best for our team, I'm pretty sure that means Tommy at fullback."<\/p>\n Trbojevic denied that his injury was the result of a footrace after a night out<\/a>, but did his teammates still sledge him for losing to a random fan?<\/p>\n "Of course we did, you can't lose a race like that in The Corso," the captain said with a laugh.<\/p>\n Manly are hoping to prove people wrong this year, and bounce back into the top eight after a disappointing 2020.<\/p>\n "We're coming off a pretty ordinary year but we're motivated to get back into the finals – everyone at this stage believes they've got a chance and we're no different.<\/p>\n "Every club at this time of year is really optimistic, and I believe we should be a finals side this year."<\/p>\n Cherry-Evans said that while some people ignore outside criticism and season predictions, he uses it as fuel.<\/p>\n "Not everyone takes it too personally, but I like to look at it to motivate myself a bit.<\/p>\n "It's not the reason why you play footy, but along the way it does keep you motivated and show people you're better than what they think."<\/p>\n Young Kiwi Morgan Harper could well be the club's fullback for round one, after showing flashes of class against the Tigers in last weekend's trial.<\/p>\n "He's a genuine option to have at fullback, he's trained there a fair bit in the pre-season. He's just a natural footy player whether it's centre or fullback, he just knows where to be and what to do," Cherry-Evans said.<\/p>\n "We saw at the end of last year how good he can be so I'm sure we will again at some stage this year."<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"NRL](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2021\/02\/344035\/pickerImage.jpg\")
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