Culture at heart of bitter Manly divide
BRENT READ
Trent Barrett has enough on his plate without having to worry about where his players spend their evenings. Then again, the Manly coach would be within his rights to ask some serious questions given the latest turn of events at a club which has spent much of the season enveloped in controversy.
Amid the claims which have surrounded the imbroglio between captain Daly Cherry-Evans and Jackson Hastings, sordid details have emerged of Sea Eagles players debriefing after their loss to the Gold Coast in Gladstone in a strip club.
Many would argue the players should have been running laps as penance for their loss to the Titans. Instead, it seems lap dances were more the order of the evening. Barrett spoke about team culture in the wake of his decision to demote Hastings to NSW Cup, yet what does it say about a team’s culture that after suffering the ignominy of defeat, they choose to debrief at a strip club?
Reports suggested the players were well behaved — they had Club security with them — but surely that misses the point. What were the players doing there in the first place given they were coming off a loss to the Titans?
Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once reacted to a defeat when he was in charge at Scottish Club Aberdeen by making his players run through the town centre so the fans could give them stick.
When they got back to the dressing room he told them: “Let that be a lesson to you. Every winner hates to lose.” Hastings may be one of the problems at Manly — a big one at that — but in this case the players’ decision suggests others exist.
Barrett made a decisive decision with Hastings but that doesn’t necessarily mean things will run smoothly from here. The players union is watching closely, having reminded Manly that all players have the right to be selected on merit.
The NRL’s new contracting system could also prove problematic. Clubs are required to select their sides from a squad of 30 players.
They require special dispensation to go outside that list and it seems hard to believe the NRL will grant it to the Sea Eagles if injury strikes and they attempt to ignore Hastings’ claims on a recall.
The situation becomes even more difficult for Manly given their numbers are already reduced. They carry former players Darcy Lussick and Nate Myles in their top 30 because they have paid them significant amounts of money this year. Injury has struck down Curtis Sironen and Kelepi Tanginoa.
Then there is Cherry-Evans’ role in this whole affair. Conflicting reports have emerged of who incited the second incident between he and Hastings, which has ultimately cast a pall over the latter’s future not just at Manly, but in the game. There was residual bad blood between the pair from a training incident earlier in the week and Barrett insisted Cherry-Evans went to find Hastings to clear the air.
Things escalated and Hastings is now on the outer. Cherry-Evans knows what that feels like. When he first came through the ranks at Manly, he was the player on the outer with senior and powerful figures.
The club was split down the middle over Cherry-Evans. On one side was some of the senior figures led by the Stewart brothers — Brett and Glenn.
They were among a group of players who couldn’t cop Cherry-Evans. He had his supporters as well, chief among them some club powerbrokers who could see the influence of the Stewart brothers was on the wane.
They wanted to build a club around Cherry-Evans and ultimately signed him to a long-term deal reportedly worth $10 million.
Manly is now very much Cherry-Evans’ club. He is the most influential figure in the playing ranks. The man who now wields the power.
Barrett made it clear that the decision to demote Hastings was his decision and his decision alone. Yet if Cherry-Evans wanted Hastings as his halves partner, he would have him.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sp...e/news-story/11e2bb8856afc6458d6ed9eccce947f9
