Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold breaks silence on DCE and Trbojevic rumours

Manly coach Anthony Seibold has revealed that skipper Daly Cherry-Evans fronted the playing group to address his departure from the club, while also hitting back at rumours of trouble within the Sea Eagles ranks.

Manly coach Anthony Seibold has refuted suggestions he contemplated stripping the captaincy from Daly Cherry-Evans and revealed that the Sea Eagles skipper addressed his future with his teammates at a “campfire chat” this week.

In a wide-ranging interview on the eve of a crucial game against the Wests Tigers, Seibold also discussed the move of Tom Trbojevic to the centres, the pressure on the club and speculation over his own future.

The Sea Eagles are fighting to remain in the finals race, having suffered successive defeats amid talk that the uncertainty over Cherry-Evans’ plans for next season is having an impact on not only his own form, but that of the team.

Seibold revealed that Cherry-Evans explained the situation to his teammates as part of regular weekly chats that the players and staff have been conducting since the start of the season.

“We have campfire chats each week and Chez and Jazz Tevaga, it was their turn for campfire chat,” Seibold said

The real problem for Anthony Seibold and Manly isn't the draw. Pic: NRL

“I thought Chez explained and summed it up really well. He wanted to give the club plenty of time to find a replacement, which we were able to do – find a really high quality replacement (Jamal Fogarty) because Chez has been the No.7 here for such a long time, 14 and 15 seasons and done a fabulous job.

“And he just wants some time to work out what he wants to do next. I don’t see how there’s anything sinister around that.

“People have always got opinions. Some people might want him to come out and say it, some people don’t. Ultimately, it doesn’t affect how we prepare to play the West Tigers and that’s all my focus is on – how we prepare and play well tomorrow night.”

THE CAPTAINCY

There have been calls for Cherry-Evans to stand down from the captaincy ever since he made it known that he would walk out on the club at the end of the season.

Plenty of pundits are happy to suggest that the club’s current malaise can be traced back to that decision, which was announced to the rugby league world on television.

Speculation has been rampant for weeks that Cherry-Evans will join the Sydney Roosters next season, although there has been no confirmation and the Roosters have remained tight-lipped.

So has Cherry-Evans. That has prompted talk that he should be stripped of the captaincy but Seibold said that had never entered his head.

(L-R) Daly Cherry-Evans with coach Anthony Seibold during a Manly training at Brookvale Oval. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“Never, not once,” he said.

“I’ve never thought about that. I don’t make decisions lightly and if you look at a couple of case studies, the last person in Chez’s position to say that he’s not going to stay at a club was Adam Reynolds in 2021 and Souths stayed the course with Adam – he was their skipper, he did a great job and they ended up making the grand final.

“I don’t see the need to change. Chez is our leader. I’ve said that publicly a number of times. So I’m not sure where that suggestion has come from.”

TOMMY’S MOVE

Seibold made one of the biggest calls of his tenure last week when he informed Trbojevic that he planned to move him to the centres.

Coincidentally, it is almost a year to the day since Seibold made the same call, bringing Trbojevic back from injury at centre against North Queensland.

That experiment lasted one week before Trbojevic was back at fullback. Trbojevic conceded earlier this week that he was shocked with the latest move, although he vowed to do what was best for the team.

Tom Trbojevic has not been ‘demoted’ but the move to the centres is designed to take pressure off the Manly superstar. Picture: Getty Images

Seibold says it is only a matter of time before Trojevic returns to fullback ut the priority right now was taking pressure off him.

“Well, first of all, I’ll say it wasn’t a punishment,” Seibold said.

“I don’t know what the take has been on it externally, but it’s not a punishment. It’s around helping Turbo find a little bit of confidence without worrying about the team.

“As a fullback you have to worry about the line organisation, you have to worry about the secondary shape in attack. I feel for Turbo, just worrying about himself and playing with a bit of flow and enjoying footy again and competing, without having the organisational skills, which he is unreal at.

“It’s just about taking a little bit of pressure off him. So it’s about allowing Turbo to play with a bit of freedom and flow.

“His best position is fullback. The thinking is take a bit of organisational pressure off him, let him just go and play, play with flow and freedom, and enjoy footy.

“He’s taken it really well. He’s one hell of a player.”

PRESSURE

If you listen to the rumour mill, Seibold is under pressure to win over the next fortnight when the Sea Eagles have winnable games against the Tigers and South Sydney.

Lose those games and the blowtorch will be on Manly and their coach. Seibold, though, was in a relaxed mood when he fronted the media on Thursday morning.

“Like what’s going on over in Israel and Ukraine – that’s pressure right,” Seibold said.

“If you think about life right, every single one of us is going to die. Every single one of us. So if you work back from that point – it’s not to be morbid – but you really work out what’s important in life.

“I’m really passionate about coaching, but I’m also passionate about other things as well. So it’s not pressure. It’s a game of footy.

“We’re going to play really well tomorrow. No doubt about that. If I don’t have a job here anymore, I’ll still be able to feed the family and that’s what’s most important.”

Seibold may be under pressure but he was in a relaxed mood when he fronted the media. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Seibold was quick to point out that the Sea Eagles have been on a steady climb on his watch – he took over as head coach in the wake of the Pride jersey scandal, which fractured the club.

“This year we’ve played some exceptional footy, but we’ve also played poorly at times,” he said.

“The gap between our best and worst has been too wide for my liking. To suggest that …. you’re a good coach if you win the game, you’re a poor coach, if you lose the game, for me, that’s nonsense.

“I think it’s quite laughable. But I also know that there’s an agenda somewhere in the background there.

“So that says more about that person than myself.”

SUCCESSION PLAN

Amid the drama of the past fortnight, it also emerged that the club had discussed a succession plan when Seibold was in talks over his contract extension until the end of 2027.

The talk was that assistant coach Michael Ennis, who juggles his role at Manly with his commentary duties at Fox League, was in line to eventually succeed Seibold.

“One of the things about Manly in the past that I didn’t want to occur at this time – if you look at the last three or four coach changes, has been massive big blow ups,” he said.

“The club starts again, the roster management or the playing group has to start again. What I felt was when the club wanted me to stay on, I thought long and hard about it – could I continue to grow the group and improve the group?

Cherry-Evans talking with Michael Ennis during Manly training at Brookvale Oval. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“Ultimately I thought we’ve made a really good start to this journey. So I was really enjoying it. So I said, yeah, I’ll extend the contract, but one thing I said to the club was look, how about we think about a succession plan so somebody could come in in my last year [and] start to take our decisions around the roster.

“So if at the end of 2027 I decide that’s the time for me to go, things are in place for the club going forward.

“It’s a considered decision with regards to putting the future of the club first rather than it blowing up.”

That, mind you, is an issue for the future. Right now, there is only one thing on Seibold’s mind.

“We’re trying to win, we’re not trying to lose,” he said.