Comment: Phil Rothfield declares why Manly Sea Eagles were right to terminate coach Des Hasler
It was sad to see Des Hasler’s time at Manly end this way, but the decision to bring Anthony Seibold on as their next coach is a good move, writes Phil Rothfield.
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The Manly Sea Eagles board has made the right decision to terminate Des Hasler.
His position became clearly untenable after weeks of uncertainty and a complete breakdown in trust between the coach and the board.
No business can operate properly under these circumstances, especially one under such constant media scrutiny and one that involves so much emotion.
Hasler is a Manly legend who delivered two premierships.
It is sad to see it end this way but the club had no choice because the last few weeks have been so damaging for all stakeholders.
This time of the year is so important for the 16 NRL clubs to be operating smoothly.
More important than in the actual season.
There is sponsorship, marketing, memberships, season tickets, merchandise, the schedule and everything else that keeps a club chief executive fully occupied until Christmas.
Manly’s new CEO Tony Mestrov has been working almost full-time on Hasler’s future to the detriment of the rest of the organisation and planning for next year.
Now they can move forward.
There will be no repeat of the rubbish from Belmore five years ago when Dessie left in strikingly similar circumstances in a falling out with the club’s powerbrokers.
The Dogs are only now recovering.
The choice of Anthony Seibold as head coach is a good one.
He has experienced all the highs and lows of NRL coaching at Souths and then the Broncos.
It will be a huge job when he starts pre-season training next month.
This has been such an unsettling period for the Trbojevic brothers Tom and Jake and skipper Daly Cherry-Evans, who were Hasler supporters.
Other players have been affected too.
There is still the wash-up of the pride jersey to be dealt with and the fact seven players, who boycotted the match against the Roosters, are still to address it publicly.
At least now there is the opportunity for a fresh start.
As Jack Gibson once famously said: “winning starts in the front office.”
Manly now has an opportunity, from the ball boys to the boardroom, for everyone to be on the same page and pulling in the one direction.
No nastiness, no sniping.
There is no doubt their roster is strong enough to make the top eight next year.
They have Tommy Turbo back next year and, from all reports, Josh Schuster in great shape.
There is no reason this club should suffer like the Bulldogs did from Dessie’s departure in 2017.
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