A defiant Tom Trbojevic has proved his State of Origin fitness with a stunning display on Sunday evening, carving up Canberra in Manly's 42-14 win.
The Sea Eagles' fullback was completely unstoppable at GIO Stadium, scoring a hat-trick and looking at his threatening best in his final outing before NSW coach Brad Fittler names his side for the series opener.
Trbojevic has been hampered by a hamstring injury but is now almost certain to be picked in the centres for Game 1 after leading Manly to a much-needed win in the capital.
It snapped their three-game losing slide and let them square the ledger at 5-1-5 for the year, while it left the Raiders tasting defeat for the first time since round five.
Aside from running for 173m, Trbojevic's brilliant outing featured 10 tackle busts, two offloads, three line breaks and two line break assists, the sort of form that would have NSW fans licking their lips ahead of next Wednesday's opening Origin contest.
He flashed his electric speed and strength to power over on 20 minutes before cutting through for another soon after as Manly shot to a commanding lead.
The star No.1 had a hand in winger Reuben Garrick's effort early in the second half before racing through to complete his hat trick as the Sea Eagles blew Canberra off the park in moving to a 24-8 lead.
Five-eighth Josh Schuster put in his best shift of the season, scoring on the hour mark to go with his earlier three assists, while late tries for Jason Saab and Ben Condon completed the rout.
Young Canberra prop Ata Mariota nabbed his first career try late in the piece, with he and skipper Elliott Whitehead the only Raiders to cross on another dark day for the club.
Trbojevic's brother Jake also looked to prove his fitness for Blues selection after returning ahead of schedule from a calf injury, playing 58 minutes and running for 47m to go with 31 tackles.
It was Canberra's flattest performance since a 53-12 pummelling against Penrith and promptly ended their five-match winning streak. The Raiders looked lifeless in attack, and powerless to stop Trbojevic and the rampaging Sea Eagles in defence.
As in their Panthers defeat, Raider heads dropped in the second half as their line was repeatedly breached amid minimal defensive resolve, perhaps undoing some of the progress made in their recent run.
Queensland hopeful Corey Horsburgh (132m, four offloads) put in another gutsy shift but was hardly influential, while NSW chance Hudson Young (83m) was quiet and spent 10 minutes in the bin for sparking an all-in scuffle after Schuster's try.
