Dolphins or Roosters? DCE confirms contract talks as Turbo captains Manly
While Cherry-Evans spends the week north of the border, Trbojevic will lead the Sea Eagles into battle against Parramatta on Friday night.
Jake Arthur will wear Cherry-Evans' No.7 jersey – his first NRL game since the end of 2023 – while prop Matt Lodge and hooker Lachie Croker also play their first matches in the top grade this season.
Laurie Daley left Trbojevic out of the NSW side, and said on Monday he wanted Turbo to 'go back and play some good football and be confident'.
'I've got no doubt Tommy will be back in this arena at some point,' Daley said.
Coach Anthony Seibold said of Trbojevic on Tuesday: 'Every player wants to play Origin, and I feel like with Turbo, this is a great opportunity for him to build some confidence in his game.
'The thing that Turbo is very much a hard marker on himself is his attack. He made a couple of errors on the weekend [against the Cowboys], but the thing I said to him was he was putting himself in the picture.
'Defensively, two out of the last three games we've played, which we've won, against the Panthers and Cowboys, Tommy's defence, individually and his organisation of the defensive line, have been at an elite level.
'That's what he has built his game on. We're just finding ways to get his flow again.
'The way he finished last year, and his form for Australia, and even before he got injured, that game in round one against the Cowboys, that was one of the best games I've ever seen him play.
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'He's had an MCL, he's had corks, so it's been a stop-start season for him.
'We didn't count on having him here [during Origin]. But he'll captain. He's keen and ready to go.'
Jake Trbojevic will also be missing from the Eels clash due to a concussion, his second in a month, which could yet see him miss more than one week as a precaution.
The return of Lodge is a big plus. The front-rower was not eligible to play before round 11 because he was on a train-and-trial deal.
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