Manly coach Anthony Seibold has implored the NRL to reassess its scheduling after his side endured a horror stretch of three games in just 11 days.
The Sea Eagles lost their third successive game, a 20-18 defeat to St George Illawarra at 4 Pines Park. They lost Jake Trbojevic for most of the game - and for the next one against Penrith - after the NSW captain was diagnosed with a category-one concussion. Nathan Brown (shoulder) and Tommy Talau (leg) were also casualties during a costly night.
Seibold is one of the most measured mentors in the NRL, who rarely turns the focus on forces outside his control. However, he spoke out on behalf of his club and others who have been adversely affected by quirks in the 2025 draw.
“This is something I was going to say regardless of the result, but that’s five games in 25 days,” Seibold said.
“The NRL’s never been more demanding and we talk about player welfare and wellbeing and so on. I just don’t understand how not only is it five games in 25 days, if you narrow it down a bit more, it’s three games in 11 days.
“I see it’s the same with other clubs, I see the Raiders, their schedule, the Sharks schedule …
Anthony Seibold.Credit: Getty Images
“I don’t know how that comes about; playing Perth on Saturday, flying back Sunday, and then we turn around on a Thursday night.
“We had 20 minutes on the field this entire week, so it’s difficult. I’ve seen other teams with it as well, so it’s not just us, it’s across the competition and needs to be looked at.
“In the AFL they don’t have less than six-day turnarounds.”
The NRL draw has been unkind to other teams as well. The Raiders have spent much of the season on the road, including trips to Vegas, Townsville and Perth. Another anomaly has been teams playing each other twice within a matter of weeks.
However, Seibold felt the short turnarounds warranted discussion to ensure they were reduced in future seasons.
“No one’s gonna listen to one coach,” Seibold said.
“I’m just putting it out there that we talk about well-being and player welfare.
“This is something that needs to be looked at going forward, it’s not gonna change this year.
“We’ve got another three games in 11 days during the Origin period, four if you’re playing Origin, it’s something that needs to be looked at.
“It’s not a whinge, I see it with other clubs, so it’s not just us … it’s across the board.”
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan praised his team for heeding the lessons learnt in heartbreaking close losses to South Sydney and Parramatta.
“The effort, the scramble, the attitude was there,” Flanagan said.
“We made some silly errors and if we want to go to that next level we need to get them out of our game.
“That’s what I need to keep driving into our group about stopping putting ourselves under pressure.”
