NRL shutdown: Manly Sea Eagles owner Scott Penn to stand by club
Locked down in New York amid the biggest health and financial crisis of our lifetime, Manly’s proud owner Scott Penn has sent a message of hope to concerned players and supporters.
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Manly Sea Eagles owner Scott Penn and his family have thrown in more than a $1 million a year to keep their battling NRL club afloat for more than a decade now.
And even in lock down in New York amid the biggest health and financial crisis of our lifetime, Penn has sent a message of hope to concerned Sea Eagles players and supporters: “We will be fine ... we are not walking away.”
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It seems every time rugby league is going through a tough time some people will try and get rid of Manly out of the competition.
But for the haters out their predicting the coronavirus will finally get the job done for them, Penn vowed he would not give up on making sure a team remained on Sydney’s northern beaches.
“Look, we are absolutely the heart and soul of the northern beaches and the north shore and we are here to stay,” Penn said. “We are not walking away that is for sure.
“Obviously we are concerned about the prospect of not playing this year. But we have done all of our modelling.
“Stephen (chief executive Stephen Humphreys) and our finance team have done an excellent job doing a number of scenario plans, all of which we can live with.
“None of them are pretty but all of them will ensure that the club survives.
“The disappointing thing for us is that we were super excited for this year.
“We have a fantastic roster and we did well last year despite the injuries.
“It is bitterly disappointing to have to go through this now when we were confident we were going to be right up there. But this is not going to go on forever. This is a temporary thing.
“Yes, it is having a massive global impact. But this is not going to be forever.”
Penn also wanted to get the message out to his players that he promises the club will do everything in its power to look after them in this time of crisis.
“Right now is about the health and safety of our staff and we are managing that as best we can in an extraordinary environment,” he continued.
“Everyone realises it is going to have a huge impact on players and staff. The thing is we are all in this together.
“We all want a viable and successful future and we are just going to have to go through some short term pain.
“We will come through this.”
Penn also gave a sobering insight into what life has been like trapped at the epicentre of the United States coronavirus crisis for five weeks.
He revealed he was due to fly back in time for Manly’s opening round clash against Melbourne but it was too late.
“Look, it is pretty crazy. We are bunkered down,” Penn said.
“The day I was due to fly out everything kind of went a bit pear-shaped.
“I originally pushed it back a couple of days and then the self-isolation came in.
“Then I knew it was going to be hard to get back.
“It is very much lock down. No one is on the streets after 7pm. It is an interesting time.”
MANLY PLAN TO AVOID FULL STAFF STAND DOWN
—Dean Ritchie
Manly is expected to follow rival clubs by standing down all football club staff – but the Sea Eagles could also consider a left-field option.
Sea Eagles chief executive Stephen Humphreys will address key staff members about the course his club will navigate through the financially crippling coronavirus pandemic.
Humphreys would not elaborate on which course of action he would take but the club is expected to follow Canberra, North Queensland, Parramatta, Canterbury, Penrith and Cronulla by standing down the club’s coaching staff.
Manly could though consider asking staff to reduce their daily hours and therefore slash their weekly income.
The financially prudent option could mean football staff work around three hours a day and are paid accordingly. Such a move would reduce running costs for a club known to be facing financial difficulties.
The possibility that football club staff would be retained on reduced hours would allow coaches to stay and work together preparing for the competition’s resumption.
This option, some suggest, would also benefit the welfare of football club officials. Long-term separation could be damaging, according to some officials.
Manly could simply continue to be fully operational but that would appear unlikely to the cash drain. The likely scenario at this stage is that Manly would ask football club staff to take some form of leave.
Humphreys has been in constant dialogue with Manly’s owners, primarily the Penn family, throughout the past week.
“We have delayed making any decision until we have as much information as we could,” Humphreys said. “We are expecting an update from the NRL (on Friday) and we will then look to take a position.
“(A stand down) is one of the scenarios we are considering. We have seen what many other clubs have done and understand why they have done that.
“We will take all the latest information on board overnight and then make our decision.”
Humphreys will address his club today after a morning hook-up with the NRL.
“We will get all the latest information from that call,” Humphreys said. “We are looking to find the right balance to put in place.”
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Manly players were told not to attend training this week and to exercise self-isolation protocols. The vast majority of Manly’s administration was stood down last week.
Sea Eagles players are expected to continue training individually to ensure peak fitness when - or if - the NRL competition resumes this year.
Workaholic Manly coach Des Hasler continues to monitor every scenario.
Some clubs are concerned that standing down coaches would hinder the physical and mental wellbeing of players.
The Sea Eagles could announce their position on Friday afternoon.
Manly won one of their two games this season which included a 9-8 win over Sydney Roosters at Leichhardt Oval.