A frustrated Anthony Seibold has refuted suggestions Manly tried to pressure Tom Trbojevic into taking a pay cut, disappointed news of the injury-plagued fullback's offer has come to light at all.
Seibold insisted on Thursday it was Trbojevic who had approached him suggesting he return a portion of his salary over the next two years given his struggles to stay fit. The 27-year-old has been restricted to only 35 games since the end of his Dally M-winning 2021 season.
Since news of Trbojevic's offer broke on Monday, rugby league pundits have questioned whether it had actually been Sea Eagles bosses who devised the idea to clear salary-cap space by downsizing Trbojevic's seven-figure salary.
Manly coach Seibold was displeased with suggestions that the payback offer, rejected by the NRL, had been the club's idea.
"It's very disappointing to hear some people question Turbo's integrity or the integrity of the club," he said.
"Turbo came to me and said that he wanted to take a pay cut because he felt like he'd missed a whole heap of football.
"It was a really difficult conversation for him to come to the coach and say that. That's all been buried, the NRL have said that he can't do that.
"I just think that says so much about his character (to make the offer).
"I was quite disappointed that that was expressed in the media, I think those types of things should be played out in private.
"I think the integrity around people questioning that it was the club who had the conversation with Turbo is just not true."
Trbojevic plays his 150th NRL game against Canterbury on Friday night, a hard-fought milestone that comes after the fullback shook off his latest hamstring injury to rediscover top gear.
Seibold stopped short of comparing Trbojevic's current form to his 2021 campaign, often rated among the finest individual seasons of the NRL era.
"That's putting a lot of pressure on Turbo. I'd rather look forward and be in the present rather than look too much in the past," he said.
"What I do know is he's in really good form."
But the coach has always felt confident Trbojevic would return to his best following a cruel run of injuries, having been aware of the fullback's diligence for the best part of a decade.
"Meeting him for the first time back in 2016, when I coached that year as an assistant here, he had a ton of ability," Seibold said.
"But why I thought he'd go so far in the game was just because of his work ethic and how diligent he is and was as a professional.
"It's probably not uncommon for all players to have some doubt in periods of time, whether it's due to a lack of form or injury or any other challenges. Turbo's not immune to that, (but) I've never had a doubt that he'd come back and be at his very best."
