I think Tom needs to refocus where he is and who he is on this next 6 to 8 weeks.
He needs to be a Manly first footy player, go back to his youth mentality of just dreaming to play for the mighty Maroon and White..
He needs to forget the hype just play footy and play hard in every aspect.
Maybe if he treated every run or tackle as his last he may get back to some decent footy.
He needs to tell the Rep teams to back off and focus on Manly.
I personally think he actually has been saving his body at times because of Origin.. yes I get it..it's rep footy, he is a NSW gun and wants the origin victory at the highest level..blah blah blah..
But seriously he's defence in the last month has been very very restricted mentally I believe.
And I think it's because he fears the injury (that's just happened) because he will miss origin... and that's where he is going wrong.
Footy is a tough game and like any tough and physical endeavour if you go in half hearted or with self preservation in mind you come out injured or beaten.
Seriously he gets injured last week because he goes in half hearted.. Meninga commented after the game.. "with the game on the line, Tom's a big body and should have stopped that try, someone like Billy Slater would have lived for that effort"
My advice to Tom, forget the hype, focus on Manly and just play footy. Every hit run tackle as your last and you will be fine.