Tom Trbojevic says his denied offer of a salary sacrifice was driven by a desire to do what he felt was right by Manly, after his most recent hamstring injury hit him harder than previous issues.

Trbojevic declared on Tuesday he believed he was now back playing his best football since his Dally M year in 2021, as part of the Sea Eagles’ finals surge.

But the quietly spoken No.1 was understandably more sheepish about his contract, after it emerged he tried to wipe $750,000 off it over the next two years.

Trbojevic’s offer came after he suffered his sixth hamstring in five and a half years in round 10, leaving him fearing he was not living up to his $1.1 million price tag.

The offer was denied by the NRL, which does not allow players to reduce their value in the salary cap.

“This (injury) hit me a bit harder than it probably has in the past,” Trbojevic said.

“I just thought it would be a good option for the club moving forward, but it wasn’t to be.

“I can understand the NRL’s reasoning. It is what it is.”

The 27-year-old said part of his motivation was for the Sea Eagles to create greater depth at the club, while also being able to keep the likes of rising stars Lehi Hopoate and Tolu Koula.

“That (depth) was certainly a part of it,” Trbojevic said.

“You need to keep (those young players) at the club. Lehi has come along this year, and Tolu has been doing it for a while.

“They’re definitely players you want to keep at this club long term, because they are definitely the future of it.”

Trbojevic is now clearly living up to his value on the field.

Ahead of Friday’s clash with Canterbury, Trbojevic has set up 10 tries and scored nine of his own in his past six games.

They’re the kind of numbers he was producing during his freakish 2021 season, with the fullback believing he is “probably” playing his best football since then.

“But it’s about not getting complacent with that and trying to get better,” Trbojevic said.

“I have been someone who has been able to manage the reconditioning process well (through injuries).

I have been able to manage it well and get confidence back and believe in yourself. Then if you’re able to go out there and perform on the field, you grow from that.”

Teammates agree, but claim they were disappointed Trbojevic felt the need to offer a salary sacrifice in the first place.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” hooker Lachlan Croker said.

“But I think it would make everyone upset that he thought he needed to do that.

“Because to us he has more than done enough to have that price tag. What he earns, he definitely deserves.

“He is almost back to 2021 levels … if he wasn’t playing the footy he was playing then and now, I don’t know what it would look like for me either.

“I probably owe my career to him.”

Alexei Popyrin has set up a third round blockbuster against Novak Djokovic at the US Open after an impressive straight-sets win over Spain’s Pedro Martinez in the second round. Popyrin kept his superb run of form going by dominating Martinez in a 6-2 6-4 6-0 victory, in what proved to a brutal day of drama for fellow Aussie tennis stars Rinky Hijikata, Ajla Tomljanovic and 18-year-old qualifier Maya Joint – who were all eliminated.

Popyrin came into the year’s final grand slam seeded for the first time at a major and the World No.28 made it nine wins from his past 10 matches on North American hard courts after dispatching Martinez in one hour and 48 minutes. The reward for the Aussie – who recently won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal – is a mouthwatering third round clash against defending champion and 24-time major winner Djokovic, who benefited from the third set retirement of fellow Serb, Laslo Djere later on Thursday (AEST).