Tom Trbojevic weakness exposed as Manly fans fume over 'embarrassing' scenes in Tigers loss

For all the talk of the refereeing and how Manly were hard done by, the truth is they only had themselves to blame for their shock NRL loss to Wests Tigers on Thursday night. And while Tom Trbojevic was brilliant with ball in hand, the Tigers may have exposed his defensive frailties and provided a blueprint for teams playing the Sea Eagles in the finals.

Trbojevic was at his attacking best on Thursday, scoring three tries from three line-breaks and running for 244 metres, while also breaking 12 tackles. It was the kind of attacking masterclass that gets Turbo all the headlines and praise.

But his defence left a bit to be desired, and questions are starting to be asked about whether he puts in equal amounts of effort on both sides of the ball. This publication has questioned whether the defence of Reece Walsh and Latrell Mitchell is up to the standard of an elite fullback, and Trbojevic should be held to the same standard as well.

He produced a rather feeble effort when Api Korousau scored the Tigers' first try, barely laying a hand on the Tigers hooker. And he completely over-committed when Alex Sayfarth burst through the Manly line to score just before half-time. Trbojevic expected the pass to go out the back rather than short to Seyfarth, and the Tigers forward had an unimpeded run straight to the try-line while Turbo watched on in vain.

And when the game was out of reach in the dying seconds, Trbojevic appeared to stop running and assume his teammates would make the tackle on Samuela Fainu when he crashed over in the corner. But Trbojevic wasn't the only Manly player to blame, with Tolu Koula failing to catch a kick from Lachie Galvin on the full and allowing it to bounce over his head, which resulted in Solomona Faataape scoring the Tigers' fifth try.

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Sea Eagles' defence and discipline not up to scratch

All up the Sea Eagles missed a whopping 40 tackles and made 15 errors, completing at just 67 per cent. There were some controversial refereeing decisions that didn't help their cause, but Manly only had themselves to blame. And Daly Cherry-Evans and Anthony Seibold admitted as much after the game.

"You get what you deserve in the NRL," Seibold said. "We've deserved some really good results because we've played some really good footy but tonight we weren't there. We'll go back and prepare well because we've got a big game against the Bulldogs next Friday night. We know how well they've been playing.

"We were well beaten tonight. But I'm confident in the group, we've got a really good side there. Our destiny is in our own hands. It's disappointing but it's not the end of the world, right? We're fighting in this competition and we'll go again. It's going to be a disappointing 24 hours but then we need to wash it after that."

Manly fans left fuming over 'embarrassing' scenes

The Sea Eagles were hampered by three sin-bins, with the decision to march Haumole Olakau'atu the most controversial. But Manly probably should have had a fourth player binned when Taniela Paseka hit Solomon Alaimalo high at the same time Corey Waddell did - yet only Waddell went to the bin.

Manly fans were left fuming over the refereeing, but the general consensus was they simply weren't good enough and didn't show the Tigers enough respect. Manly appeared to put the cue in the rack after taking an early 16-0 lead, and it came back to bite them.

They probably should have won the game at the death anyway, but winger Jason Saab came up with two woeful errors in prime attacking position. The Sea Eagles have now slipped to seventh on the ladder and missed a golden opportunity to move closer to a top-four finish. A fifth or sixth place finish would give Manly a home game in the first week of the finals, but that's now in huge doubt.