Reliving Tom Trbojevic’s Record 150-Point Game

Look away Cowboys fans.

In round 25 of the 2021 NRL Season, Tom Trbojevic set the record for the most fantasy points in a game, with 150.

T Trbojevic’s stats for the match are incredible, including three tries, 302 metres, six line breaks, two try assists, and 19 tackle breaks. With zero tackles and only one kick defusal, it was close to a pure attacking game.

At the time, T Trbojevic was a must-have in fantasy and was rivalling N Cleary for scoring. Prior to Round 25, T Trbojevic had posted scores of 105, 83, 61, 137, 83, 75, 94, 31, 99, 59, 100, 50, 64, and 67. But his 150 was the jewel in the crown of his 2021 season.

We relive T Trbojevic’s record score in this article.

First Half

The Cowboys entered the game with their season well and truly over, finishing in 15^th. Manly went into the game pushing for a top four spot. It was unlikely ever going to be a fair match up.

T Trbojevic’s first touch was for nil points, with a short ball to Brad Parker 30 seconds into the game. It was only 90 seconds into the game when the Cowboys produced their first of 12 errors. Valentine Holmes bungled the play-the-ball on the 50-metre line. In the ensuing set, Trbojevic had his first run.

In a twist of irony, however, T Trbojevic’s first fantasy-relevant play was actually an error. Not only was it an error, but it was a dropped ball in the 3^rd minute, which saw Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow run the length of the field for a try (involving a great footrace with Jason Saab).

If it was a competition between the fullbacks, Tabuai-Fidow had taken the lead (now on approx. 20 fantasy points) over T Trbojevic (now on approx. -2). But in the 8^th minute, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow left the game with a hamstring injury.

T Trbojevic was on -2 until his first notable attacking stat of the game, a line-break assist to Reuben Garrick in the 9^th minute.

Manly didn’t turn this field position into anything immediately, and the Cowboys were able to get out of trouble in the following set. In the 11^th minute, T Trbojevic had his first (and only) kick defusal.

In the following set, Reuben Garrick found himself in the clear down the left side. But the Cowboys again survived, with some good scramble defence.

In the 13^th minute, T Trbojevic recorded another run, culminating in his first offload of the night.

In the next play, T Trbojevic popped up in support off a Toafofoa Sipley offload but couldn’t break away. Daly Cherry-Evans then put Jason Saab over in the corner for Manly’s first try.

In the next 15 minutes, T Trbojevic recorded five runs. But it wasn’t until the 30^th minute that he produced his next decent fantasy-scoring play. T Trbojevic took a scoot out of dummy-half after a Dylan Walker break, broke a tackle, and threaded a grubber into the in-goal, resulting in a forced line drop-out.

Despite the pressure, the Cowboys managed to hold on in defence in the following set.

Surprisingly, it took until the 37^th minute for T Trbojevic to produce his first try involvement, sending his brother over for a try after a line break up the middle.

This was a 10-point play, with one line break (four points), one try assist (five points), and 10 run metres (one point).

T Trbojevic followed up this assist by scoring his first of three tries in the 39^th minute, in his very next touch.

This was a 24-point play, with three tackle breaks (six points), one line break (four points), one try (eight points), and 60 run metres (six points).

T Trbojevic finished the first half on 52 fantasy points, made up of one try (eight points), one try assist (five points), two line breaks (eight points), one line-break assist (two points), five tackle breaks (10 points), 150 run metres (15 points), one kick defusal (one point), one offload (four points), and one forced drop-out (two points).

With 98 fantasy points still to come, T Trbojevic was in for a big second half.

Second Half

T Trbojevic started the second half much like the first, with an error. In the 43^rd minute he attempted to flick on a pass to Reuben Garrick which found the sideline.

It was again the Cowboys who struck first, with an impressive solo try in the 47^th minute to Jordan McLean.

T Trbojevic’s slow start to the second half continued with only three runs for 20 metres until the 52^nd minute, when he went close to scoring, picking up a tackle break in the process.

Manly were next to score, with a second try to Jake Trbojevic in the 57^th minute, but T Trbojevic was not involved.

In the 58^th minute, Trbojevic found space up the middle off a Martin Taupau offload, but the Sea Eagles failed to find the try line after this and turned over possession.

In the 62^nd minute, Ben Condon dived on a Valentine Holmes grubber to score the Cowboys’ third try.

In the 69^th minute, Reuben Garrick beat Murray Taulagi to a DCE bomb to score in the corner. T Trbojevic was not involved in this try either.

With only 10 minutes left in the game, T Trbojevic still had a long way to go for the record.

In the 72^nd minute, T Trbojevic kicked into gear and produced perhaps the highest-scoring individual fantasy try of all time. T Trbojevic took the ball off Kieran Foran on the 20-metre line and proceeded to break away from multiple defenders as he moved across field. He looked to be wrapped up by three defenders before breaking free and forcing his way over the line.

This try alone was worth 32 fantasy points, including one line break (four points), nine tackle breaks (18 points), and 20 run metres (two points).

At the 74^th minute, T Trbojevic had notched up two tries (16 points), one try assist (five points), three line breaks (12 points), 13 tackle busts (26 points), 231 run metres (23 points), one line break assist (two points), one kick defusal (one point), two offloads (eight points), one forced drop-out (two points), and two errors (negative four points).

T Trbojevic continued his late scoring run in the 77^th minute where he found space up the middle of the field and put Daly Cherry-Evans over.

This was a 12-point play, including one line break (four points), one try assist (five points), one tackle break (two points), and 15 run metres (one point).

Manly did not put the cue in the rack, and in the very next set T Trbojevic finished off a fantastic team try as the clock ticked down.

This final play added a try (eight points) and a tackle break (two points) to his tally. With the previous record being 144, T Trbojevic well and truly used the full 80 minutes to break it.

Final Score

When all was said and done, T Trbojevic had claimed the fantasy record with a score of 150. This overtook Nathan Cleary’s previous record of 144, set earlier in the same season.

T Trbojevic got there on the back of three tries (24 points), two try assists (10 points), six line breaks (24 points), one line break assist (two points), 302 run metres (30 points), 19 tackle breaks (38 points), two offloads (eight points), one kick defusal (one point), and one forced drop-out (two points).

This score was particularly fantasy relevant, with T Trbojevic being a genuine captaincy option at the time, and Round 25 being grand final time for many fantasy leagues.

This record may be beaten, but it likely won’t be forgotten.