Trbojevic brothers want futures resolved soon amid fear of playing apart

Kangaroos lock Jake Trbojevic would like to sort out his playing future sooner rather than later as he and brother Tom consider the possibility they may be forced to play apart.

With the brothers off contract with Manly at the end of next season, rival clubs can can begin talking to them from November 1 and at this stage they do not have an offer from the Sea Eagles to consider.

Jake said after starring in Australia’s 26-4 defeat of New Zealand on Friday night that he and Tom wanted to continue playing together for Manly but were unsure why the Sea Eagles hadn’t yet tabled a new deal amid interest from rival clubs.

"We would love to stay at Manly but we are just waiting, I guess, for something," Trbojevic said. "We have got another year so I don’t think it is panic stations or anything yet.

"Hopefully something gets sorted out and obviously we would love to stay. We have made that pretty clear."

Asked if he would like his future resolved quickly, Trbojevic said: "Definitely. I like playing footy so I would love to have that sorted."

However, the brothers are also aware they may be forced apart if the Sea Eagles can’t come up with suitable offers for both of them, which happened to Brett and Glenn Stewart at the club and the Morris twins, Brett and Josh, at St George Illawarra and Canterbury in recent years.

"We have played together so far, we have always played together and we love playing together but footy is a funny game," Trbojevic said. "You wouldn’t have thought the Stewart brothers would have to split up or leave Manly, or the Morrises.

"Because of the salary cap, that is life.

"I honestly don’t know what to think but if you get worried, you think I have got another year so it is fine. I try not to think about it, that’s why you have manager."

Meanwhile, Trbojevic praised 19-year-old Broncos prop Payne Haas after his stunning Test debut for the Kangaroos.

Haas played 37 minutes and carried the ball for more metres than any other forward, making 174 metres from 13 runs.

"I can’t believe he is only 19. He is going to be there for the next 10-plus years," Trbojevic said. "He has really only played one season of first grade and he is so good.

"It is great playing alongside him. I got to experience it in State of Origin for the first game this year, he is really level-headed and I think he works extremely hard so I think it is a great reward for a young guy.

"He plays 80 minutes for the Broncos at 19, playing first grade. Wth it obviously being faster it is something you build over time and it takes a few years but he has been thrown into that level and he is straight there. He has got a massive future."

Trbojevic had two tries disallowed against the Kiwis and displayed great honesty to admit on the field that he had not scored.

"I knocked them both on, I knew I had knocked on," he said. "I told everyone, there was no point carrying on. They were going to see it on camera.

"It was a very good win. We talked about last year how we were very disappointed with how we lost to them over there and it was all about putting in a good performance here at home and it was a really good crowd."