This delicate situation is Kieran Foran’s toughest job yet
The first round of the Rugby League World Cup has underlined one of the NRL off-season’s most fascinating questions: is Jake Trbojevic extending his career one season too long?
Trbojevic’s future was never far away from the headlines in 2026, with the 14-season veteran forced to consider his rugby league mortality after a series of head knocks that came at a time when he was struggling for form.
Manly Sea Eagles champion Jake Trbojevic. Getty Images
By May he had made up his mind. Feeling rejuvenated by the Fozball revolution that took the NRL by storm for a couple of months after Anthony Seibold was sacked, Trbojevic made the call to play on for one more season.
Despite his high standing within the club, the Sea Eagles may privately be experiencing buyer’s remorse.
That’s not supposed to be a slight on Manly’s longtime spirit guide, who was once among the NRL’s premier middle forwards and is still among its most respected leaders.
It’s simply a nod to an evolving roster and some talented players coming through the system who are making a strong case to take his jersey.
Fiji’s impressive demolition job against the Cook Islands was built in Manly, with one of the NRL’s most improved players, Brandon Wakeham, named man of the match, and powerhouse young middle forward Caleb Navale setting the platform with more than 200 running metres. Navale’s line break and try were the icing on the cake in a coming out party of sorts for the 23-year-old who has long been considered a top prospect but had his career stalled in pre-season this year by a ruptured ACL.
Opposite Wakeham and Navale was forgotten Sea Eagles recruit Davvy Moale, who was arguably the Cook Islands’ best player, racking up 155 running metres to go with his 32 tackles. Moale, also 23, showed his considerable potential in his 70 games for South Sydney before leaving for a one-season stint in Melbourne, where he struggled for regular game time, making just 10 appearances.
In Wakeham, Navale and Moale, Kieran Foran has the potential to reshape his forward pack in a way that could leave Trbojevic positionless.
Moale is an out-and-out front-rower who will likely share minutes with pack leader Taniela Paseka, promising young gun Simione Laiafi and Kobe Hetherington in the first choice unit up front. If moving Trbojevic to the front row was a consideration he may end up fighting for a spot on the extended bench.
As for the No.13 jersey, it all depends on how Foran wants his team to play.
There’s a case that could be made for switching Wakeham - the Sea Eagles’ Swiss Army knife - to the lock forward position. He’s an excellent middle defender and has the playmaker skills to play a similar link role to Connor Watson’s for the Roosters over the last few seasons.
If Wakeham did move to lock he could do it as a starter or from the bench, allowing Navale to play a more traditional bash and barge role through the middle as the starting 13, with Wakeham to be injected when the middle defenders were fatigued.
Caleb Navale was a standout for Fiji against Cook Islands. Getty Images
In either of those scenarios, the 13 would become a Navale/Wakeham one-two punch, which would endanger Trbojevic’s place on the team sheet.
But if that’s what Manly’s brains trust is thinking, it will require a difficult conversation.
Undoubtedly Trbojevic signed his one-year extension believing that he is still in the Sea Eagles’ best 13 and would lead them out alongside his younger brother Tom in Foran’s first full season at the helm.
At 32, Trbojevic has done it all bar lifting a premiership trophy, with 265 first grade games, 19 appearances for NSW, including a series win as captain, and 13 caps for Australia. It’s a glittering CV for someone so modest, but even Trbojevic’s reputation as the nicest man in rugby league would likely be put to the test if he was told he no longer had a place in the Sea Eagles’ best team.
But if that conversation hasn’t taken place and Foran is still planning to make Trbojevic a key plank of his 2027 plans, he risks missing a big opportunity to reshape the Sea Eagles’ forward pack and reignite their finals ambitions.
Potential Sea Eagles 2027 line-up
1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Lehi Hopoate 3. Clayton Faulalo 4. Tolu Koula 5. Jason Saab 6. Luke Brooks 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Jake Simpkin 10. Davvy Moale 11. Ben Trbojevic 12. Haumole Olakau’atu 13. Caleb Navale 14. Brandon Wakeham 15. Kobe Hetherington 16. Simione Laiafi 17. Kayliss Fatialofa 18. Starford To’a, 19. Joey Walsh
