Michael Maguire’s ways, and the choice to nominate Jake Trbojevic as captain, have been referred to as into query after the NSW skipper spent simply 29 minutes on the park in Wednesday’s evening’s Recreation One loss to Queensland.
Trbojevic was a shock choice as captain of a squad that originally didn’t embody incumbent skipper James Tedesco, with the Manly veteran favoured over present Penrith Panthers skipper Isaah Yeo.
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Nonetheless Trbojevic’s utilization within the 38-10 loss — taking part in the primary 25 minutes and solely 4 minutes on the finish of the match — raised eyebrows as Yeo performed 47 minutes off the bench and spent a lot of the match as stand-in captain.
Former Queensland prop and long-time commentator Darryl Brohman stated Maguire had “a bit to reply for” along with his use of Trbojevic.
“He’s the captain, he’s the chief, he’s the one … while you’re in dire straits like they have been, he’s the one you look as much as. He takes him off after 25 minutes and places him on with 4 minutes to go? What’s happening there?,” Brohman stated on 2GB’s Steady Name crew post-match present.
“The query now’s whether or not he can probably even be within the crew subsequent time, or whether or not he’s captain. If he’s going to be captain, give him a while on the sphere.
“… I like Madge, however Jake Trbojevic shouldn’t be captain if he’s going to play 29 minutes of a recreation.”
Maguire steered within the post-match press convention Trbojevic fell sufferer to Joseph Suaalii’s early send-off because the Blues’ plans modified shortly.
“By circumstance, Jakey did some nice issues at the beginning, however the rotation of what we had simply didn’t permit us to get (him) again on. We needed to cowl the backrowers and plug the sides,” Maguire stated.
Brohman was additionally crucial of Maguire asking halfback Nicho Hynes to defend at proper centre after the Cronulla star was uncovered doing the identical factor in final yr’s sequence.
“I like Nicho and I really feel sorry for him however he was out of his depth defending on the appropriate facet. It’s precisely what occurred final yr in Adelaide,” Brohman stated.
“The coach has obtained a bit to reply for for my part on how the Blues went tonight. I actually imply that.”
Initially revealed as NSW Blues below hearth as captain Jake Trbojevic performs simply 29 minutes
