Jake Trbojevic turned in a colossal performance in his State of Origin comeback and toasted the crushing New South Wales win by necking a beer in the sheds to the cheers of his teammates.
As Nine’s post-match show unpacked NSW’s 44-12 belting of Queensland in Perth, cameras spotted Blues captain James Tedesco pulling a Tooheys New from an Esky and handing it to Trbojevic.
The Manly inspiration was called upon by the NSW skipper to skol the official beer sponsor of the Blues as Brad Fittler and his men celebrated forcing a decider, set to be played in Brisbane on July 13.
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The cold beer was a fitting reward for 71 minutes that yielded 14 runs for 143 metres and, perhaps more importantly, 31 tackles.
After being controversially axed by Fittler for the Origin opener, won by Queensland in Sydney 16-10, Trbojevic won back his sky-blue jumper and delivered exactly what was expected of a workhorse like him.
“I thought he set the game up perfectly,” said rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns, who gave Trbojevic one vote.
“Did all the dirty work that no one sees.
“I thought he was unbelievable.”
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Trbojevic also received praise from enemy territory.
“He was amazing,” said Queensland Origin great Paul Vautin, who also happens to be a Manly legend.
“He made a hell of a difference tonight.”
Although Trbojevic has admitted missing playing alongside younger brother Tom, whose 2022 Origin campaign was ruined by a season-ending shoulder injury, the Blues forward said it was great to be back in a NSW jersey.
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“Just looking around there’s a lot of good guys, a lot of guys with a lot of confidence, and it’s nice to see in camp,” Trbojevic said.
“Guys like Isaah Yeo and (Nathan) Cleary. It was good to play with Api (Koroisau) again. I played with him at Manly four or five years ago.
“It was really nice, it was just a really enjoyable week.
“Getting to play with that calibre of players is special.”
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