Manly’s title hopes have been dealt a catastrophic blow with Tom Trbojevic suffering a suspected pectoral injury in the Sea Eagles’ 36-6 NRL loss to Melbourne.
In a drama-filled Saturday evening at Lottoland, Melbourne wrapped up the minor premiership but might also be left counting the cost as Cameron Munster left the field late with a shoulder injury.
Off the back of a dominant opening half-hour and a Justin Olam hat-trick, the result bumped Melbourne’s arch-rivals into a last-round scrap for the top four.
Manly will finish the weekend in fifth, needing to beat Parramatta and have South Sydney lose to the Sydney Roosters to have any hope of a second chance in the finals.
But it was in the casualty ward where the Sea Eagles suffered the most pain, with Jack Gosiewski copping a leg injury and bench prop Morgan Boyle suffering a hand problem.
Trbojevic appeared to be hurt just before going into a regulation tackle early in the game, and left the field immediately before ending the night in a sling.
Initial concerns surrounded his left pectoral muscle, where even the most minor strain would rule him out for at least two weeks.
Anything worse would likely mean his season was over, with Brendan Elliot set to fill in at the back.
Before Saturday, Manly had won 10 of the 11 games they’d had Trbojevic this year. Without him, their record is 4-7.
“We all know how important he is to our team,” Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans said.
“If he is going to be out, people are going to have to step up. We will be right.”
In a brutal evening at Brookvale, Jorge Taufua put on two of the biggest hits of the year in defence but Manly struggled to make any other real indent.
During a dominant opening half-hour, Melbourne enjoyed 67 per cent of possession and had more than 70 of their play-the-balls in Manly’s 20-metre zone.
The pressure told in points, with the Storm scoring three tries in that time, including one to Olam from a bullet-like Cameron Smith cutout ball.
Olam’s second after halftime was just as remarkable.
With Josh Addo-Carr diving towards the sideline to flick back a Ryan Papenhuyzen kick into the legs of Brad Parker, the centre chased it down to score.
Manly’s only try came in the 37th minute when Cherry-Evans put Taniela Paseka over next to the posts.
But if they hoped it would breathe life back into the match in front of 14,640 fans, Papenhuyzen added to Olam’s second-half try to put the match beyond doubt.
The two teams also clashed late in the match, a melee breaking out after a Will Chambers high shot, with the Storm centre sin-binned for the hit.
A fan was taken from the ground in handcuffs by police after he was around the tunnel as Chambers retreated to the dressing rooms.