Many saw it as his finest hour, but it proved to be the beginning of the end.
With his side sitting on the cusp of the top eight, just a few rungs shy of the top-six finish required to trigger a contract extension, Desmond John Hasler fronted Sydney’s sporting and non-sporting media in July to discuss the debacle that was Manly’s rainbow jersey.
After deftly navigating a minefield of issues ranging from religion to discrimination, many felt that this was Hasler’s finest moment, some achievement given all of his accomplishments on the field and in the coach’s box.
“Des is slowly becoming what he has always been, a bit of a prophet,” oozed his biographer, Thomas Keneally.
Yet not even Hasler could have foreseen what would happen next.
The club’s powerbrokers were less enamoured with Hasler’s performance in front of the press, believing he had shifted blame from himself onto them. As the fallout continued and the losses mounted - the Sea Eagles didn’t win another game all year - so too did the tension between the parties.
Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler during his “Pride jersey” press conference.Credit: Nick Moir
Stories were leaked as each camp tried to take the moral high ground. Hasler was painted as a megalomaniac, unwilling to cede control as Brookvale burned. The opposing narrative was that Hasler was an army of one, holding together a rudderless club while the owner watched on from overseas. The truth, as ever, depends on who you speak to.
Of all the reams written on the topic in ensuing months, it’s a quote from US baseball icon Yogi Berra, that rings loudest: “It’s deja vu all over again.”
If it feels like we have been here before, it’s because we have. Rewind to the end of the 2011 season; Manly are the champions, Hasler is the hottest coaching commodity not on the market and war is declared after Canterbury attempts to poach him.
On that occasion, like now, the end date for Hasler’s Sea Eagles tenure was 12 months away and the parties were trying to convince themselves they could make it work. It could not.
On August 19, 2011, Hasler’s manager, George Mimis, sat in Penn’s boardroom to inform the chairman and co-owner of his client’s worth, as indicated by prospective clubs including Canterbury. It was said to be with a view to striking a new Manly deal.
It ended in tears. So acrimonious was Hasler’s exit, his cards were marked “Never to coach here again.” Until he did.
The divorced parents got back together, vowing to make a proper go of it for the sake of the Sea Eagles family. There was a honeymoon period - Manly went to within one game of the grand final in 2021 on the back of the wave that was Tom Trbojevic - before old wounds were reopened.
Save for Manly putting a cap on the amount they would pay Hasler should his contract be torn up again, it’s stunning how little anyone has learnt from previous experience.
Des Hasler during his time as Manly coach.Credit: NRL Photos
They were all back in Penn’s North Sydney boardroom on September 8 of this year, yet another crisis meeting to discuss Hasler’s future. According to Team Hasler, it couldn’t have been more positive and the parties had all but agreed to a contract extension. However, new Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov - Hasler has worked under almost a dozen during his time - had to go on the record to deny any such agreement was in train. Even after emerging from the same meeting in the same room, they couldn’t agree as to what had just transpired.
Much of what has happened since has been about saving face and money. Manly imposed conditions on Hasler they expected him to reject; Hasler belatedly accepted them. No one truly felt it would work, nor did anyone want to be seen breaching the terms of their agreement.
Just before midday on Thursday, while on holiday interstate, Hasler checked his phone. He scrolled through the news section of a website to learn that his job was no more. It was an ignominious end.
Hasler had dedicated decades to the Manly cause. Now he was booted from Brookvale. Again. Whether he is entitled to a payout is a contentious point.
It will be up to the lawyers to decide if there is a pot of gold for him at the end of the rainbow.
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