FED-UP EAGLES DEMAND HASLER ANSWER
Des Hasler has until the end of the week to decide if he will remain as
Sea Eagles coach after the club imposed a deadline on the veteran mentor to accept a raft of changes to his powers.
News Corp understands that Hasler has a matter of days to fall in line or face the prospect of being shown the door.
Frustrated
Sea Eagles officials privately concede the situation between club and coach has become toxic, almost to the point of no return.
Hasler’s only hope would be to accept the changes that the club wants to impose on his coaching department and work with the club cohesively on a succession plan for his eventual departure.
There is every chance the parties decide to go their separate ways before the deadline given the divide between coach and head office.
Hasler may come to a conclusion that the writing is on the wall and walk away from the final year of his contract. That would then leave the two parties to negotiate a settlement which could be as high as $1 million.
Hasler spent the weekend mulling the changes the club put to him late last week after a raft of meetings. The changes include stepping away from recruitment decisions and allowing the club to appoint his assistant coaches after News Corp revealed the restrictions placed on Hasler.
One of those assistants will be
Anthony Seibold, who the club has anointed as their preferred long-term option to replace Hasler.
Hasler is understood to be considering his legal position as he ponders taking the club to court over the handling of the pride jersey fiasco.
Hasler’s dream scenario is to be granted a 12-month extension and
work with Cronulla assistant Josh Hannay for the next two year before Hannay takes control as coach in 2025.
However, senior figures in the club are fast losing patience with their coach given the way the past month has played out, with key figures barely speaking since News Corp revealed the depth of the dramas on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Sea Eagles officials have become frustrated with what they perceive as Hasler’s refusal to cede power and influence at the club. They feel they are being treated with no respect, a feeling that is no doubt reciprocated within the Hasler camp given he is arguably the most successful coach in club history.
The coach has been the most dominant figure at Manly during his two stints in charge, a period when the club has had a revolving door of chief executives.
The only stability has been in the coaching department, although those with long memories haven’t forgotten the way Hasler walked out on the club after the 20011 grand final win to join Canterbury.
He returned when things at the Bulldogs went sour and was given unfettered control at Manly on his return. However, figures within the club have made the decision that Hasler’s power needs to be reined in after the disappointment of 2022 – the club missed the finals, losing a series of games after the Pride jersey fiasco.
That sombre end to the season left Sea Eagles powerbrokers determined to wrest back control from their coach and have more say over the future, including the plans for a successor to Hasler.
Hasler has dug in his heels and that has only strengthened the resolve of Manly officials to take back control of the football club from their coach.
Chief executive Tony Mestrov has been at the centre of talks with Hasler, although chair and owner Scott Penn is back in the country and determined to resolve the issue before he heads back to America,
There is a view at the upper echelons of Manly that Hasler has shown little inclination to change. They also dismiss the notion that they are making life difficult for Hasler as retaliation for his handling of the Pride jersey fiasco, which some have suggested reflected poorly on club hierarchy.
