NRL Fantasy player watch: Tom Trbojevic
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Tom Trbojevic, WFB, $688,000
The third-most expensive WFB in Fantasy is the budding Manly superstar known as 'Turbo'. Trbojevic is entering his fourth NRL season but just his second as first-choice Manly fullback.
Scoring potential: 4/5
Trbojevic's breakout 2017 was marred by an ankle injury mid-year that robbed him of an Origin debut but also slowed his freakish attacking dominance. He still managed 23 NRL games – the same as in 2016 when he floated between fullback and wing pending Brett Stewart's availability – while marginally increasing his tries (from 10 to 12), line breaks (from 19 to 24) and tackle busts (from 85 to 95). His creative play exploded with his full-time shift to the back though: his line-break assists leapt from eight to 17 and his try assists from 11 to 19. With a full pre-season under his belt following his Kangaroos debut in the 2017 World Cup and (hopefully) no further injury dramas, Trbojevic's 2018 potential is near limitless.
Reliability: 4/5
Trbojevic will likely have Origin duties mid-year which would put him out of the club's round 13 clash but his spot is otherwise safe as houses. Even with a few injury niggles he missed just one game in 2016 and two in 2017. He recorded only three scores below 30 last season which came in a quiet round one, an injury-affected round 14 and an error-riddled 40-6 thumping at the hands of Melbourne. But with six further scores in the 30s – compared to someone like Tedesco who had just three scores under 40 all year – show that he is still building his scoring consistency.
Value: 3/5
The good news is that for all his talent, Trbojevic is young and still making his way as an NRL fullback. Considering how good he is already, the fact he has improvement left in him means his Fantasy average could very well go to a new level in 2018.
