You don’t win or lose rugby league premierships in March.
However, when a team performs as hopelessly in round one as the Manly Sea Eagles did against the Roosters on Saturday, there are obvious reasons for alarm.
It’s why we’re talking about Dessie Hasler’s future right now.
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Is time up on Des Hasler’s stint at Manly?
Last week club legend Peter ‘Zorba’ Peters listed his old team among the 2021 wooden spoon contenders. On Sunday he was still at it.
“I hate to say it but that performance showed what I was talking about,” Peters said.
The TAB agrees with Manly’s price firming from $15 to $11 in the most-losses market after the loss.
“I’m hurting like every Manly fan,” Peters said.
“I can’t remember a time in our 75 years when we’ve lost nine out of our last 10 games in the manner in which we have.
“You look at the scorelines and it’s scary. We lost 46-4 on Saturday. We conceded between 30 and 50 points in all the other losses. This is embarrassing for a proud club like ours.”
The Sea Eagles were also thumped by the Wests Tigers a fortnight ago in the trial at Leichhardt Oval.
Daly Cherry-Evans can’t stop the bleeding.
Saturday was the 10th biggest round-one loss of all time for any club.
It was Manly’s heaviest defeat since 2005. The Roosters made nine line breaks to their one. There was nothing doing in attack or defence.
They’ll be massive underdogs against South Sydney on Saturday, then face St George Illawarra and Penrith.
The Hasler story is a big one.
His coaching record in more recent times is not great. He finished 11th in his final year at the Bulldogs and 13th last season at Brookvale. There was a top-eight finish in between in 2019.
Hasler is off contract at the end of the season and this is the elephant in the room.
He has been offered a new deal but has not yet signed it because of the performance clauses.
The story will not just disappear while there is a negotiating stalemate.
Jake Trbojevic is part of a trio of players eating up much of Manly’s salary cap.
This will have an effect on the playing roster like it does at every club when the coach is subjected to such intense speculation.
We spoke to Hasler on Sunday about the Roosters game. It is business as usual.
“The performance was poor and really disappointing for our fans,” he said, “but we have a group of players who are prepared to work hard to turn it around. It’s only one round.”
Hasler was out in Blacktown on Sunday watching Manly’s feeder club, Blacktown, carve up North Sydney 48-20.
At least Cade Cust put his hand up for NRL selection on Tuesday with the hooker bagging a hat-trick.
You look at the Manly situation and wonder how they get out of this mess.
They have three players, Daly Cherry Evans, Tom Trbojevic and Jake Trbojevic soaking up $3.2 million of the salary cap. Marty Tapau and Dylan Walker are also on big bucks.
Cade Cust is pushing hard for a recall.
It affects the depth and balance of the roster. There was no money left to keep Api Koroisau from going to Penrith. Plus they can’t cope with injuries.
Losing Tom Turbo with another hamstring in the shower or the Manly Corso foot race (believe whatever version you want) was a massive blow.
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They not only lose such a devastating attacking strike power but are forced to play Walker out of his specialist centre position which opened up defensive weaknesses for the Roosters to exploit.
Manly is the only NRL team to have never won a wooden spoon.
