- The captain led the team’s surprising comeback after losing the first match
- His Blues are only the third New South Wales team to win the final in Brisbane
- A detail about its Origin series has been the target of criticism from fans
Jake Trbojevic lifted the Origin shield after leading the Blues to an unforgettable win on Wednesday night, only to become the butt of jokes online after fans picked up on a detail about his play in this year’s series.
New South Wales fans have no issues with the quality of Trbojevic’s efforts, as he played a major role in guiding the team back from a horrible start in the first game, to crushing the Maroons in Melbourne, then the miracle at Suncorp Stadium to take the shield.
They do, however, have a problem with the fact that the captain has only played brief stints in this year’s clashes with the Maroons.
He was on the field for 29 minutes in the first game, 33 minutes in the second and just 23 minutes in the 14-4 win in Brisbane.
As a striker, Trbojevic is expected to spend some time resting, but having the captain off the field for so long is unusual.
Football fans showed the Manly forward no respect when they attacked him on social media after the series win.
“Jake Trbojevic is that guy who does nothing in the group assignment but still gets an A,” one wrote, before adding: “Trbojevic’s role is to simply lead the team onto the field and then get right off.”
“Cam Murray ran harder to get involved in last night’s brawl than Jurbo (Trbojevic’s nickname) did all series,” said another commentator, referring to the Souths star’s involvement in the brawl on the sidelines of the Suncorp pitch.
Trbojevic (pictured centre, holding the shield after the win on Wednesday night) has been the subject of mockery online after his game time was cut short in this Origin series.
One football fan joked that Cameron Murray racked up more metres than his captain when he came on as a substitute in Game 3.
Another X user was a little more creative in criticizing Trbojevic’s lack of time on the field this year.
“Nicho Hynes ran 20 metres more than Jake Trbojevic in this Origin series,” said another fan, referring to the Cronulla scrum-half who was dropped after the first game.
“Does being captain mean you don’t have to get your shirt dirty?” asked another commentator.
One X user was a little more creative and posted the message ‘Blues crew to Jake Trbojevic when he said ‘Us’ in speech’ accompanied by a clip of Walter White from the TV show Breaking Bad saying: ‘Us? Who is us?’
‘Undefeated Joseph Sualli (sic) played more minutes than Jake Trbojevic this year,’ wrote another user, referring to Roosters defender Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i, who was sent off in the first 10 minutes of the first game and played no further role in the series.
Following the win in Brisbane, Blues coach Michael Maguire hit back at critics who cited the captain’s lack of game time.
“A lot of you asked me if Jake would be the captain,” he said.
‘It’s the glue, it’s the special parts in and around the equipment that people don’t get to see.
Trbojevic (pictured left with teammate Angus Crichton after Game 3) ignored fans’ concerns about how long he has been stuck on the bench.
‘I wanted Jake as our captain because of his character, the players love him, they just had another special moment there (in the locker room) where everyone cheered him on.
“I felt like Jake was the guy I wanted to lead the team, so it was nice to see him.”
Trbojevic also addressed the issue after the 20-point loss in Game 1, when he was on the bench for more than 50 minutes and returned with just four minutes remaining and the game completely out of reach.
Asked if Maguire explained his reasoning, he replied: “He did, but he didn’t have to. It was fine.”
“It’s a professional sport and I’m a grown man. That’s how it works.”
‘It’s the highest level. It’s not like the Under 8 category, where you share your minutes.
“I’ve been here a long time. If you play for the Blues, it doesn’t matter how many minutes you get. I’m happy to be here.”
