Slater happy to pass on his tricks to Tommy Turbo

BILLY Slater has tormented NSW fans for more than a decade but now he has lent a helping hand to rising Blues star Tom Trbojevic.

Trbojevic spent the best part of six weeks shadowing Slater when the pair were Kangaroos teammates in Australia’s World Cup squad.

Aside from crossing paths on the field, Trbojevic had never formally met Slater before the tour.

But the Manly star did not waste the opportunity to pick the brains of one the best fullbacks of all time. “He is a legend,” Trbojevic said. “He has done everything in this game. You can see why he has with how professional he is.

“On the training paddock he is the loudest talker. To see the effort he puts in to get ready for each weekend, you know why he is so good.

“He is a very good talker. That’s something I need to improve on. Just to see him do it. He never shuts up. That’s what you need as a fullback.”

With his first full season as a fullback in the top grade complete, Trbojevic has nominated two key areas to work on heading into next year.

He wants to replicate Slater’s vocalness to help control the Sea Eagles defensive line and also stop floating in and out of matches.

“( Talking more) comes with little bit of time,” Trbojevic said.

“It’s also a fitness thing. When you’re fitter you’re able to talk more because you’re not under fatigue.

“I need to stay in the game for the full 80 minutes as well. That’s a big thing for me.

“I speak a lot with ( Manly coach) Trent Barrett about that. It’s about getting my mind right every week.

“There was a lot more running ( playing at fullback). I quite enjoy it.”

Never in his wildest dreams did Trbojevic think he would have had such a standout season. While he was hopeful of playing finals football with Manly, he never imagined making his Test debut for the Kangaroos in their World Cup pool game against France.

And only injury robbed him of joining brother Jake for the Blues.

“I wanted to play good footy for Manly and get to the finals,” Trbojevic said. “Playing for Australia was an addon. You dream of playing for Australia and to run out in the green and gold colours was surreal.”