Manly vs Des Hasler: Tom Trbojevic wants club and coach to smoke peace pipe
The contractual brinkmanship between Des Hasler and the Sea Eagles has escalated with club superstar Tom Trbojevic taking sides.
Manly risks alienating their superstar fullback and club figurehead, Tom Trbojevic, by allowing coach Des Hasler to walk away – effective immediately – over an increasingly ugly contract drama.
It comes after The Daily Telegraph revealed (see below) Hasler was considering quitting his job if Manly’s owners cannot offer him – and the club – immediate stability.
Trbojevic has told his close friends he would be “gutted” if Hasler left Brookvale. Hasler is seeking a one-year extension for 2024 – a request so far denied by Manly management.
Manly’s owners could plunge the club into further crisis by unsettling Trbojevic – and probably his brother Jake – over the Hasler contact breakdown.
Well-placed sources say Hasler is uncertain whether to coach next season – the final year of his current contract – if he cannot secure an extension for 2024.
The influential Trbojevic wants Hasler to remain in charge and has let his feelings be known to close mates.
One friend told The Daily Telegraph: “Tom said he would be gutted if Des left. Tom thinks Des should be Manly coach for as long as he wants and that he has earned that right.
“It was clear that Tom believes Des is the best man to lead Manly.
“The club needs everyone on the same page and working together and that’s not happening at the moment and Tom doesn’t think Des walking away would help that happen.
“A few of the Manly players can’t understand why it’s Des’ job to offer up a succession plan. Isn’t that the job of the club?
“Tom is trying to stay positive through all this trouble but it’s getting to all players. Tom knows Des is the coach Manly needs to sort through this mess.”
Trbojevic has told friends he has no plans to leave Manly given the club’s current confusion.
Hasler hasn’t discussed the possibility of him quitting with any of his players but the two-time premiership-winning coach is undecided about his immediate plans.
He has unwavering support and dedication of his playing roster but feels he needs additional support from the board.
Hasler has some allies who believe he should tell Manly he is walking away before working out a financial exit settlement.
It is known other Manly football club employees are also considering their immediate futures.
One source close to Hasler said on Monday: “The longer this goes on, the more unstable it is for the players and football management and the more untenable Des’ employment for 2023 becomes. You can’t have a high-performance environment without stability.”
Manly want a succession plan but the Hasler camp claim that is all but impossible given the turmoil currently engulfing the club.
Sea Eagles chairman and co-owner Scott Penn has flown back to his home back in New York.
Hasler isn’t commenting publicly on the matter.
Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans told 9: “I endorse Des, I‘ve got a massive rap on Des and I think he is the person that will help us get out of the rut we’ve been in this year.
“There‘s a lot going on behind the scenes with that so hopefully it gets settled soon. My gut feeling is he stays. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t see out at least (next year) of his contract. He’s too successful as a coach for this to be the end. ”
DEAL-BREAKER: WHAT WOULD FORCE HASLER OUT?
Des Hasler is now considering a prospect that would have been unthinkable just 12 months ago — walking away as Manly head coach, effective immediately.
It would be a decision that would rock the famous NRL club to its core.
The Daily Telegraph has been told Hasler will contemplate leaving if he cannot secure stability from the club’s owners.
Other Manly football club employees are also considering their immediate futures.
Friends say Hasler is uncertain whether to coach in 2023 — the final year of his contract — if he cannot be given a new deal for 2024.
One source close to Hasler said: “The longer this goes on, the more unstable it is for the players and football management and the more untenable Des’ employment for 2023 becomes.
“You can’t have a high-performance environment without stability.”
Debate continues about what was said and offered inside a clear-the-air meeting between Hasler, his manager George Mimis, Manly CEO Tony Mestrov and club chairman Scott Penn in North Sydney last week.
Some say Hasler was offered a new one-year extension for 2024 but the club denied an offer was made.
Manly want a succession plan from Hasler but the current issues are making that request, according to sources, virtually impossible.
Hasler is genuinely torn.
He has an unbreakable bond and devotion to his players but feels he has not received that same support from management.
His preference would be to stay but remaining at Brookvale for just one year would be, as one source said, “a waste of everyone’s time”.
Manly would be left in disarray if Hasler quit the club.
Players could return from an off-season break without the club having a head coach and possibly both assistants with Chad Randall being linked to Canterbury and Michael Monaghan to Canberra and Gold Coast.
It was just a year ago that Hasler guided Manly into the NRL’s top four.
No timeline has been discussed for a decision with Manly management looking at all their options.
Despite the drama, Hasler continues to complete season reviews for all his players.
Kent: Everyone a loser in Manly vs Hasler
– Paul Kent
Universal truth is that failed peace treaties often end in civil wars, which is the territory the Manly Sea Eagles seem to be heading.
Thursday’s peace accord in a North Sydney office (see story below) did little to ease tensions at the club, which seemed to be the intention going in, if not coming out.
Manly coach Des Hasler sought to have his contract extended by a year in a bid to settle tensions and bring stability to the club, and management, raising the stakes, rebuffed him.
Both sides left claiming victory.
Take out the fact this is all over football, and not over occupied lands, and it reads like a history of the 20th century.
Which means it probably won’t end well.
Hasler was always one of the most unassuming players in the game.
Quiet and unfailingly polite, his nickname through much of his career was “Sorry”.
He was always apologising, keen to keep the mood calm.
Fair to say things have changed considerably.
Hasler has perfected the crazy professor act since he began coaching, privately taking delight in nonsense comments at press conferences that are vague enough that most league reporters nowadays let him carry on without interruption through fear that questioning his odd comments might expose their own lack of knowledge.
Hasler giggles about it afterwards.
Hasler’s relationship with owner Scott Penn seems irreparable, and incoming chief executive Tony Mestrov seems to have a clear dictate to wrest back control from the coach.
Another old truth is that war is sometimes safer than peace, given at least you know where the fire is coming from, which will make for interesting times out Manly way for the next 12 months or so.
Mixed messages cloud Hasler’s future
-Brent Read, Dean Ritchie, Michael Carayannis, David Riccio
Des Hasler retains the backing of his playing group but the support of the club’s hierarchy remains in the balance after the coach emerged from a meeting on Thursday to conflicting reports over his future.
Hasler will be at Manly in 2023 and quite likely 2024. Then again, maybe not.
His future beyond next season is likely to hinge on results and his ability to convince Sea Eagles powerbrokers that he is the man to take them further, either as head coach or in a role that allows him to help choose his successor.
Hasler and his agent George Mimis hoped to gain some clarity around the future at a meeting with Manly chair Scott Penn and chief executive Tony Mestrov on Thursday following a week in which the two-time premiership winner and his club have created a slew of headlines.
Both sides were tight-lipped after the meeting but it is understood there was an agreement that Hasler would remain in charge next season — the final year of his existing deal. Beyond that, his fate depended on who you spoke to.
There was talk that Hasler had been guaranteed 2024 as well. Sources close to the club denied that had happened. They said the parties have agreed to work together on a plan beyond 2023, most likely with Hasler playing a role in choosing his successor.
Weighing in Hasler’s favour is that he retains widespread support from the playing group — it is understood a survey of the players confirmed that the coach was still in their good books.
Captain Daly Cherry-Evans also enjoys healthy support from the club — the survey of teammates was glowing in his appraisal of his leadership.
Cherry-Evans’ leadership has been under scrutiny amid reports that there was a push to have Jake Trbojevic take over the captaincy. The feedback from the players would suggest there is nothing wrong with Cherry-Evans captaincy.
The Daily Telegraph spoke with Hasler and Mimis on Thursday night but neither wanted to publicly discuss what unfolded at the meeting.
However, it is understood that Mimis presented Penn with a post-Hasler succession plan for his eventual departure — Sydney Roosters assistant Jason Ryles, North Queensland’s Dean Young, Cronulla’s Josh Hannay and South Sydney assistant Ben Hornby have been identified as potential successors.
The clear-the-air meeting was deemed “constructive”. A source close to the club said: “It was all about creating stability and then building a succession plan and pathway.”
Hasler, 61, will now help the club navigate a plan for the club to start moving forward “successfully and harmoniously”, according to the source.
It is understood recruitment manager Scott Fulton also met with Mestrov and Penn separately on Thursday — the meetings were held at Penn’s offices in North Sydney.
Despite all the scrutiny and headlines this week, Hasler continued working on end-of-season reviews for the club and players.
As part of those reviews, players were asked to complete a 40-question survey which discussed a range of issues from Hasler’s coaching to the captaincy of Cherry-Evans.
The questionnaire was designed for the coach’s self-improvement and to flag any concerns that may have been among the players in the squad.
The Sea Eagles need to start next season fast to ease the pressure on Hasler and they will have a new-look side given five-eighth Kieran Foran and utility Dylan Walker are among the players departing for rivals.
Foran’s decision to leave has been particularly difficult for some players to swallow given he won the players’ player award at the club’s presentation night earlier this week.
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