Jake Trbojevic rates it as one of his proudest moments in rugby league.
His brother, Tom, arrived quickly, his face full of sheer joy.
For the try scorer, himself, Ben Trbojevic, it was ‘pretty cool’.
The moment?
It came on Saturday, May 7, 2022, when Ben, with the number three on his back but playing second-row, crossed for Manly’s opening try against the Wests Tigers at 4 Pines Park.
Five metres out, half-back Daly Cherry-Evans took off to the blindside and delivered a ball to Ben, who spun his way around a Luke Brooks tackle to score his first NRL try in the round nine match.
Not too far away from the scene itself sat proud parents, Melissa and John Trbojevic, brother Luke, and the players’ partners and family.
Making the occasion even more memorable was the fact it was the first time Ben had played with his older brothers in an NRL premiership match at Brookvale.
“Running out that day, it was my first NRL starting game,’’ Ben recalled.
“I was meant to play in the centres but then got swapped. Going over for that try, I remember seeing the crowd erupt.
“I was shocked myself to have scored. I ended up scoring again in the next half. What a day. Saturday arvo, 3pm, Brookie…it’s hard to beat.
“It was a pretty cool feeling.”
As his representative brothers enjoyed the moment for Ben, the man himself just took it in his stride.
That’s Ben, a laidback, polite, well-spoken, young man making his own way and name at the Sea Eagles.
Now in his fourth pre-season at Manly, Ben is showing signs of what he is truly capable of after coming through the successful Sea Eagles Pathways program.
Once a strong running centre, Ben seems destined to spend more time in the second-row, such is the physical strength and presence now of the 21-year-old.
“My body is still growing, so it looks like the second-row for me,’’ Ben said.
“I enjoy playing there and it’s probably now my preferred position. I can still play centre if needed. It’s good to be versatile in today’s game.”
Ben showed just that, and more, with an impressive performance in the back-row in Manly’s opening Pre-Season Challenge win over Souths in Gosford.
He gets another chance to push his claims for round one when the Sea Eagles tackle the Sydney Roosters in Gosford this Friday.
“I’m learning from the likes of Haumole Olakau’atu all the time about the back-row,’’ Ben said.
“Just some of the simple things I need to do in attack and defence, from some of the plays they like to do to stuff in defence.
“It’s been great to learn off a guy like Haumole.”
