Trbojevic unveils vision for new era of Sea Eagles success

New Manly captain Tom Trbojevic is set to draw on the club's rich history as he leads the Sea Eagles into a new era in 2026. 

The off-season departure of Daly Cherry-Evans left the side looking for a new skipper for the first time since 2017.

While many tipped Jake Trbojevic to step into the role, coach Anthony Seibold instead turned to his younger brother Tom to guide the team forward. 

The decision is a sign of the 29-year-old's growing importance on the Northern Beaches. The fullback is a local junior who grew up supporting the Sea Eagles and shapes as a key figure in the club's quest for their first premiership since 2011.

Having been appointed to lead Manly into the future, Trbojevic is determined to build on the legacy laid by Steve Menzies, Geoff Toovey and Cherry-Evans during the Sea Eagles' 80th season. 

"It still hasn’t really sunk in, it’s hard to put into words," Trbojevic said. "When Seibs told me, it was such an honour and I was taken aback a little bit. I was a kid that once admired some of the great captains here and some of the players here.

"To even play and now captain this great club is such an honour. I’m so privileged to have that name tag next to me and I just can’t wait to lead the boys out. 

"I’ve had some past captains reach out to me. I’ll definitely draw on some of their knowledge. We’ve got [new CEO Jason King] coming on board who’s captained the club as well. There’s a lot of good people around and I’ve played with some great captains as well, so there’s a lot of people there."

While Tom has captained the Sea Eagles on occasion throughout his career, Jake has largely acted as the stand-in skipper throughout the past six years. 

Seibold's decision points to Jake's uncertain future at the club as he battles a string of head knocks suffered during the 2025 season.

The former NSW and Australian star is nearly 32 and entering the final year of a deal with the Sea Eagles. Having sat out the final four games of last season, he is working towards a Round 1 return. 

Tom recently signed a one-year contract extension through to the end of 2027 after flirting with a move to the UK Super League. 

While he said the captaincy announcement won't impact his future plans, the fullback declared it provides added motivation in his quest for a maiden NRL premiership.

"I’ve always said when I’m playing NRL I want to play here and I want to do it to the best of my ability," he said. "I signed for another year, which is great, but that’s what we want to do.

"We want to win a premiership and I haven’t been able to do that. I’m back into pre-season this week and that’s what we’re working towards. 

"It’s the ultimate motivation and the reality is there are 17 teams standing here together that want to achieve it. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and we’ve got lots to grow from what we produced last year. That’s the ultimate goal, we would definitely love to do it but there’s a lot of hard work to do that."

Trbojevic's promotion as captain comes amid an off-season of change at the Northern Beaches.

Cherry-Evans' move to the Roosters brings an end to a 15-year era at the club, while CEO Tony Mestrov will depart in December.

Former captain Jason King is set to replace Mestrov, with Jamal Fogarty the new halfback and club legend Kieran Foran starting as an assistant coach.

Trbojevic recognises the side's attacking style will change with a new playmaker but he's excited by the challenge of evolving his game.

"I think it'll be great, I've met him a few times and I just got back to training this week," Trbojevic said. "He's a really good leader, great talker, and I think he will be awesome for the club.

"Coming from a minor premiership team at the Raiders, he knows what success looks like and he's going to put his best foot forward for us.

"I think [the attack] naturally changes a little bit. I can't give an answer to exactly what it looks like, but Jamal is a different player to Chez and he's going to come in and bring his strengths.

"Ultimately if your halfback is playing well you're going to win more games than you lose. It's very early on to be going into detail there, but we'll change a little bit."