Manly entered into their clash against the Wests Tigers desperate for a victory.
The Sea Eagles had lost three of their last four matches, with those defeats coming against Parramatta, Newcastle and the Gold Coast.
Their poor run had ramped up the pressure on Anthony Seibold and the coach responded by taking an axe to his team.
The most attention-grabbing call though was taking the No.1 jersey out of Tom Trbojevic’s grasp and handing it over to Lehi Hopoate.
But how did the club’s talisman fare in the centres and could the experiment prove to be a successful one in the future? The match against Benji Marshall's side in Round 17 offered the first glimpse at the experiment in action.
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How did Tom Trbojevic play for Manly in the centres?
It took Trbojevic six minutes to get his first touch as he carried the ball on the fourth tackle straight off the ruck while working out of yardage.
This would become a theme of his night during the first half as he was starved of any meaningful opportunities at the other end of the pitch.
Instead, he was reduced almost entirely to grunt work as he made 66 run metres from nine carries in the first half.
The visitors appeared to be trying to get out wide to test Turbo in defence. But on their first few forays, they were unable to isolate him, as backrower, Corey Waddell, went into protection mode.
After a penalty for a high tackle and a six-again, the Sea Eagles finally found themselves in good field position.
Daly Cherry-Evans favoured repeated looks at the Tigers’ right-edge defence though as Turbo was left out in the cold on the opposite side of the field.
When he did finally get it out the back of shape a set later, Jeral Skelton saw the move coming from a mile off as he smashed the No.4.
The brutal contact forced the pill out of the star’s hands for an error but Skelton actually came off second best as he was forced from the field for a HIA.
"I don’t know if I’ve seen Tom been hit like that in his career," Andrew Voss exclaimed on Fox League. "Welcome back to the centres!"
Meanwhile, Hopoate was also having a tough time of it in the No.1 jersey.
He was put in a straight jacket by Adam Doueihi when he attempted to lure him in to put Turbo away close to the line. And the young gun then dropped two bombs and fired in an ill-advised captain’s challenge for a knock-on call.
Seibold’s effort to spark his side in attack looked to be a miserable failure during a listless first half.
Turbo drifted out of the right centre position for the first time after 30 minutes and lurked in the second layer of an attacking shape. However, the Sea Eagles didn’t go to him as he retreated to the centres.
DCE seemed obsessed with finding Waddell on a short, flat ball when in good field position.
However, before all hope seemed to be lost, the home side finally found a spark.
A slick switch from left to right saw DCE and Luke Brooks link up. Turbo then drew Skelton in and dished it off for Jason Saab to score in the final minute of the first half to break the deadlock.
The four-pointer saved Manly the indignity of being involved in the first scoreless first half since 2021.
Reinvigorated after the break, Turbo was in the thick of it again as he ghosted in off the right to stand at second-receiver on the left.
His movement allowed Manly to create a three-on-two when Turbo fed the ball to Hopoate, who was wrapping around out the back, and the fullback threw a textbook cut-out ball for Reuben Garrick to score.
The home side’s attack was suddenly dialled in and after Brooks shaped to kick into the centre for a roaming Turbo, he outsmarted a rushing Tigers right-edge defence to instead attack back down the short side and produce yet more points.
"They’re a completely different team," Cooper Cronk said. "There is rhythm in their attack, they're moving onto the football and their pass execution is terrific."
Yet Trobjevic was caught ball-watching moments later as Alex Seyfarth strolled through untouched. Trbojevic hung his head after being left rooted to the spot.
It was the first of two occasions late in the piece where Doueihi got the better of Trbojevic, with either clever pass selection or his running game bamboozling the New South Wales and Australia representative.
"I got a bit of the ball but I’m disappointed with a few defensive reads - you’ll probably know which ones I’m talking about," Trbojevic said post-match.
The Tigers were unable to build on this shock swing of momentum though as instead their defence ultimately let them down when DCE finally threaded Waddell through a gap from close-range to restore the advantage.
After all the focus on Trbojevic, it was his younger brother, Ben, who had the final say for the Sea Eagles as he reeled in a kick from DCE to touch down and ice the 28-10 win.
"Everyone’s been telling me for the last 18 months, you need to put Turbo to centre because, physically it looks after him, and then when I do it, I get criticised," Seibold said post-match.
"I spoke to him about playing just like he does for the Blues and the Aussies where he’s free to roam.
"It was great seeing him on the other side of the field and having a bit of freedom. And he didn’t have to do any organising in our defence.
"As I said earlier this week, it wasn’t a punishment to move him into the centres, it was about trying to free him up a bit. So, we’re pleased we got the result and he’ll be better for that run."
"It was obviously very selfless for him to go out there and play the way he did tonight," DCE added. "It just goes to show the type of person he is."