Monday Bunker: Trent Barrett needs to justify Sea Eagles exit

TRENT Barrett better have a Plan B in place otherwise his decision to cut short his time with the Sea Eagles could turn out to be a career-defining mistake.

• BARRETT: Manly look to axe coach
• EXPLOSIVE: Trent Barrett reveals all

TRENT Barrett better have a Plan B in place otherwise his decision to cut short his time with the Sea Eagles could turn out to be a career-defining mistake Dean Ritchie tells Paul Crawley in this week’s Monday Bunker.

With Manly having reluctantly decided to allow Barrett to coach the final game of the season to avoid complicating and already complex legal situation the question turns to what happens next.

Monday Bunker panellist Paul Crawley was keen to get an insight into whether Barrett might look back on walking away as a mistake.

Trent Barrett’s decision to walk away from a plum job could be costly. Picture. Phil Hillyard

“I’ve thought about that a lot in the last 72 hours,” admitted Ritchie. “What’s going through Trent’s mind? Whether in six to eight weeks he might look back and think ‘what have I done here?’

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“Manly did give Trent a chance. He’s on good coin, I’m told it’s up around $600,000 a year so for the next two years that’s another $1.2 million he could have earned.”

As for whether Barrett will have any regrets Ritchie said “it’ll depend on where Trent is next year”.

The trouble really started when Trent Barrett pointed the finger at Manly. Picture: AAP

“If he pipes up in the next week or two and says I’ve got another gig well I guess people will say now we’ve got a better understanding of why he left Manly,” he said. “But if he doesn’t have another gig it’s certainly an unusual decision.

“I just wonder if he doesn’t have another job to go to where he will end up. And if in fact he will continue to coach.”

This week’s Monday Bunker also raised Wayne Bennett as a left-field replacement for Anthony Griffin, canvassed the St George Illawarra Dragons free fall and looked at the in-form teams which won’t be playing finals football in 2018.

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Originally published as Monday Bunker: Trent Barrett needs to justify Sea Eagles exit