Manly Sea Eagles subpoena Gold Coast Titans in bitter contract fallout with former coach Des Hasler
The split between Des Hasler and his former club Manly is set to go nuclear after the Sea Eagles subpoenaed the Titans.
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Manly’s bitter split with former coach Des Hasler has deepened with the Sea Eagles now launching a formal probe into their arch rivals, the Gold Coast.
It is understood that Sea Eagles lawyers have subpoenaed the Titans to provide records of their dealings with the 63-year-old.
Manly have asked the Titans to supply phone records, as well as email and text message exchanges, as they look to get an indication of the timing of their negotiations with Hasler.
They want to establish whether any talks took place between Hasler and the Titans while he was still in charge of the Sea Eagles.
Their probe may also establish whether Hasler’s new club the Titans had any knowledge that Hasler had plans to sue the Sea Eagles while in contract talks with the Gold Coast.
The civil matter was listed in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday and is due to be heard again on June 7. The Sea Eagles offered Hasler a $565,000 settlement after the club sacked him, but he is chasing a seven-figure payout.
Hasler was formally sacked by the Sea Eagles on October 13, 2022 after weeks of speculation surrounding his future.
The Titans did not announce his appointment as coach until June 22 last year, taking the rugby league world by surprise.
Hasler signed a three-year contract with the Titans worth about $1 million a season. He commenced legal action against the Sea Eagles last October.
The case began last year and ongoing mediation talks have failed to reach a compromise. The contentious rainbow jersey fiasco had been a focal point of Hasler’s case after he claimed that the club did not consult him.
According to documents filed with the NSW Supreme Court, Hasler was due to be paid $720,000 in 2023 and the same amount in 2024, as well as an ambassador role worth about $200,000 which was due to be paid into a business he shared with his wife.
Hasler’s contract with Manly was riddled with clauses. Under the terms of his deal, Hasler earned $680,000 in 2021 and $720,000 in 2022 – which was his final year in charge.
Hasler’s deal automatically triggered an extension until the end of 2023 if he made the top eight in 2021. The Sea Eagles played finals football in 2021, automatically triggering the extension.
However, there was another clause in the contract that should Manly fail to make the finals in 2022 and decide to cut Hasler loose, they could do so provided they made a lump one-off sum payment to Hasler equal to six months of his coaching and ambassadorial contract.
Hasler came face-to-face with his former club last month with the Sea Eagles winning 34-30. He will return to Brookvale Oval on July 21.
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