Rabbitohs claim Anthony Seibold wasn’t transparent and ‘left a taste’ at the club

As Anthony Seibold prepares for a new start, former club the Rabbitohs have finally spoken of the hidden drama behind his decision to quit for a Brisbane mega deal.

Anthony Seibold left the Rabbitohs on bad terms. Picture: Brett Costello

South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly has finally spoken of the hidden drama behind Anthony Seibold’s decision to unexpectedly quit Redfern for a mega-deal at Brisbane, claiming a lack of “transparency” left his club with a “taste in our mouth.”

“Forgiven but not forgotten,” said Solly.

Seibold’s shock choice to leave Souths after the 2018 season – with a year remaining on his contract – is just one chapter in an epic story of an inventive coach who has travelled around the world for his craft and is described by players and officials as everything from “intelligent and articulate” to “over-complicated and rigid.”

Manly, welcome to life under Seibs.

News Corp spoke to multiple players, officials and stakeholders in the game to gauge opinions on Seibold, Manly’s coach-in-waiting.

Most agreed Seibold has a remarkable football knowledge coupled with a “confusing” personality some players find difficult to understand.

Anthony Seibold left the Rabbitohs on bad terms. Picture: Brett Costello

BYE BYE BUNNIES

Seibold walked out on Souths for a five-year contract at Brisbane, starting in 2019. He was desperate to join the Broncos and agitated aggressively to leave.

It was an unmitigated disaster at Red Hill, with Seibold sacked less than two years into his tenure.

“Anthony won the Dally M coach of the year when he was with us so clearly he is a talented coach who can get a team to achieve. He is a very good coach,” Solly said.

“The other side of that for us was that we were very disappointed with the way in which his move to Brisbane went down. It left a taste in our mouth. His pursuit of the Broncos job was probably less than transparent.

“Our disappointment was, in giving Anthony his opportunity to be a head coach, and the success he had in the 2018 season, we would have loved at the time for him to stay long-term. As it was, Anthony made a decision that he wanted to move to Brisbane and we were disappointed he did that.”

Asked whether Souths had forgiven Seibold for his messy exit out of Redfern, Solly said: “Forgiven but not forgotten. That might be an accurate description.

“I have seen comments from Anthony saying that he wished he never left Souths and that he learnt a lot from that experience. And, if he has, I’m sure he will have some success at Manly. I think we have all recognised that and, to Anthony’s credit, he realises he has made a mistake.

“In the end, we all move forward. Wayne (Bennett) was a wonderful coach here for three years and Jason (Demetriou) has shown what he is capable of this season. We haven’t really looked back but, at the same time, it was a difficult period for the club.”

Anthony Seibold won Dally M coach of the year in 2018. Picture: AAP

THE RIGHT MAN

Seibold will need to immediately repair a Manly playing group badly disrupted by the pride jersey fiasco.

His well-known stringent methods, according to some, may need to be pulled back to win over a cautious Sea Eagles roster.

“He was very knowledgeable, articulate, well-educated and presents very well,” said John Cartwright, who worked alongside Seibold on Manly’s coaching staff in 2016.

“His presentation to the group back then, and imparting that knowledge, was very good.

“His job at Manly back then was defensive coach and he was very professional and worked very hard.”

Cartwright, now an assistant at Brisbane, didn’t hear any negative comments about Seibold from players or officials when he arrived at the Broncos two years ago.

“I think he (implemented) a lot of different ideas and training methods when he coached at Brisbane to what the players were previously used to,” Cartwright said.

Seibold is also one of Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy’s proteges.

“Anthony spent three years down here,” Storm general manager of football Frank Ponissi said.

“One year as our under 20s coach and then two years as our development, transitional coach. He impressed everyone in those three years, the way he fitted in and connected with the players.”

TOUGH TO HANDLE

Seibold told Broncos players he was always available for a talk.

The problem was, few felt comfortable enough to engage with their coach.

One player described his coaching style as “confusing and unyielding”.

“The Broncos players generally felt him to be very rigid and set in his ways. He had meetings organised all the time. I think the playmakers felt confused over his systems,” said a well-placed source close to the Broncos.

“One player told me directly that ‘Seibs’ said his door was always open but it didn’t feel open. They struggled to connect with him as a bloke. It was information overload for some players.

“But conversely, he was very organised and tactically, he was very smart. He has a very good football brain. ‘Seibs’ certainly knows the game and understands it.”

One player agent said: “Seibs is very switched on – he’s intelligent – but he can over complicate things and make it hard on players. A lot of players these days don’t need to be overeducated on footy.”

EVERYWHERE MAN

Seibold is rugby league’s true global warrior.

Born in Rockhampton, Seibold has played and coached in a remarkable number of cities, towns and countries around the world.

There’s been Brisbane, Perpignan, Canberra, London, Ipswich, Hull, Toowoomba, Wales, Mackay, Melbourne, Manly, Souths and Newcastle. He even played a game in Estonia. By the time his daughter Isabella was 10, she had lived in four countries.

“You can have great life experiences in rugby league so when people say rugby league is just a local game, it really shits me,” Seibold once said. “I hate it when people say rugby league is just two states and the north of England.”

Anthony Seibold has been around the world for his career. Picture: AAP

THE BROOKVALE CHALLENGE

Can Seibold rebuild Manly under immense and ease the anxiety of the club’s two precious jewels – Tom and Jake Trbojevic?

Once thing is clear – he won’t have to do it alone, with a dream team of assistant coaches featuring Shane Flanagan, Jim Dymock and possibly Laurie Daley taking shape.

Former Broncos and Test player Corey Parker worked alongside Seibold at Brisbane and is backing success at Manly.

“Make no mistake, Anthony Seibold is one of the smartest minds I have come across in rugby league, so it is just how that message gets delivered and how it is picked up from the playing group,” Parker told Fox Sports.

SACKED FULTON’S ‘MANLY 16’ LEGACY

— Michael Carayannis

Kristie Fulton has spoken of her immense pride of helping reinvigate Manly’s pathway system after her shock axing last week.

Fulton was sacked by the club last Friday in a move which brought wide-spread condemnation amid bullying allegations. Broadcaster Ray Hadley labelled the move as “unforgivable”.

Fulton was in charge of the club’s elite pathways systems and had a close relationship with a host of Manly’s rising stars.

“I was brought into the club to help execute a vision for a strong and thriving pathways,” Fulton said in a statement. “There are currently 16 players within the Manly Sea Eagles NRL squad who have come from the Manly Sea Eagles junior system, most of who graduated from the program I managed.

“I take great pride in supporting the players and their families and I look forward to seeing many more Manly pathways players achieve their dream of playing in the NRL in years to come.”

Kristie Fulton (L) with former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian.

Josh Schuster came through Fulton’s pathways system. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty

Among those recent graduates include Josh Schuster, Haumole Olakau’atu and Taniela Paseka.

Fulton left the club in 2017 but returned to head up the pathway system.

It is understood Fulton was caught off guard by the move and was told to leave the club’s Brookvale headquarters immediately.

Fulton’s departure comes as part of wide-sweeping changes at the Sea Eagles. She joined coach Des Hasler out the door.

Others to have left the club include; Chad Randall, Michael Monaghan, Rubin Ruzicka and Don Singe.

Fulton’s brother Scott is expected to remain in his position as the club’s head of recruitment.

The club is also close to finalising a two-year extension for Zac Fulton who made his NRL debut this year.

The Sea Eagles said in their statement that they would “like to wish Kristie Fulton all the best in relation to her next endeavours”.

Originally published as Rabbitohs claim Anthony Seibold wasn’t transparent and ‘left a taste’ at the club