Manly want Turbo-charged defence in 2022

Manly have pinpointed their defence as an area where Tom Trbojevic can lift them again, with teammates adamant he can still get better than his record-breaking 2021.

Trbojevic's stunning year was the story of the NRL, claiming every individual award available to him.

It helped Manly recover from a 0-4 start to make the preliminary finals, with the fullback scoring 28 tries and setting up 31 others in 18 games.

But the Sea Eagles are certain the NRL has still not seen the complete package.

Dylan Walker on Thursday labelled last year as Trbojevic's "new standard", while Sean Keppie and captain Daly Cherry-Evans see more improvement.

"He can (get better)," captain Daly Cherry-Evans warned.

"Any player who keeps playing in the NRL can get better.

"Obviously Tommy has set a ridiculously high standard for himself and he's super-eager to prove that's not a fluke. I'll back him in for that.

"There are going to be things that he's going to be better at this year that aren't going to bring up a nice stat for everyone to talk about.

"But it will make us a better side."

Cherry-Evans is talking about Manly fixing their defence.

The Sea Eagles are already a vastly superior defensive side when Trbojevic plays, letting in 10 less points per game when he plays in the past three years.

But they still conceded more than 20 points per match in 2021, giving up 204 in six games alone against Melbourne, Penrith and South Sydney.

"We just need to have the mentality that it's OK to win 12-10 or something like that, not 32-30," Cherry-Evans said.

"Defensively a fullback is arguably they are the most important area in your defensive line.

"Their positioning, when they are in and out of the line.

"All of those things come with time, working with