Post-Game Discussion Knights V Manly [Round 14, 2025]

[SeaEagle21]

I missed most of the game on TV but was listening on the radio and first half sounded like it was going well.

Then the missus calls so my son could say good night and says Manly are going well and should win. I replied we’ll see what happens in the second half. Sure as night follows day we completely fk up a comfortable lead against a very weak Newcastle team by ignoring the basics.

In order for me to even be remotely comfortable in winning we need to be up 30+ and even then until there is 2 mins to go i still say it’s not over. That’s the level of confidence i have in our team to close out a game.

The team just has no idea how to close out a game and i am not sure if it’s DCE straying from a game plan or Seibolds lack of step on the throat mentality that costs us.

This season has been a shocker and really it has been like this up and down with no consistency to win 3, 4, 5 games in a row that has made us borderline top 8 with one and out for the last few years.

When DCE goes that will be one part of the process of elimination to see if it is him or the coaching structure. However Seibold strikes me as someone that will blame it on losing DCE and having to adjust without him…

I hope it gets better but Seibolds lack of plan b doesn’t give me much optimism.

All in all it was truly Manly performance last night based on the last 10yrs or so, 2019 & 2021 provided some brief optimism before reverting back.

Going on 14 yrs without a premiership with no end in sight is really disappointing.

Oh well onto next week

 

[Darknstormy]

So who within the club will have the balls to make the harsh decisions necessary to fix this club? Doesn’t take a genius to realise we need some serious changes, perhaps the club is just too childish or ego driven to admit it?

I’ve tried to back Seibold for as long as I can but tonight and this year is pushing it. I thought 2023 was some solid progression getting us out of the dumps that were late 2022. 2024 was another step forward playing finals. 2025 was meant to be yet another step forward. And it started that way, but we’ve once again gone backwards the year after playing finals. We NEVER play finals one year and then improve on that the next year anymore. It’s not all Seibolds fault, but can’t help but feel like the team are not buying into what he’s doing anymore. DCE said get me out of here ASAP, the rest of the team look like they’re losing interest. The attitude once again was not present in key moments tonight.

These things will not get fixed until someone high up has the guts to make harsh but important changes. But it’s not just getting rid of the guys who aren’t leading us in the right direction, but it’s bringing in guys who will.

I seriously believe this team is, or at least was, so close to doing something big but year after year is wasted potential. We’ve wasted a lot of some special players prime years because the guys running this place make wrong decision after wrong decision. The argument that the players are the reason for this is in part true, but the guys high up are the true reason. Why is it that Melbourne/Penrith can turn the vast majority of their players into stars, while we continue to sign ageing forwards and release youngsters who are now killing it elsewhere? Because they have intelligent people that know what they’re doing and don’t just accept mediocrity if it means more cash.

Maybe this is just that post-loss feeling, but the fact we are getting this so often now is clearly not good. It’s a sad spot to be in. Every year is just the same thing with different people nowadays. This club was once winning premierships every decade, it feels VERY LIKELY the 2020’s will put an end to that very special statistic. The 2010’s barely even kept it alive anyway.

If anyone disagrees, feel free to tell me why because I want to be optimistic about this team, I really do, and I hate seeing so much negativity but I just have to be realistic and being realistic right now in my opinion is admitting that we are so far from achieving anything in our current state.

We go again next week, but my excitement on game day is becoming less and less by the week 🦅

Mate this will continue on with the current owner he has had 10 years to open his wallet for a decent coach but has failed to do so..he is quite content on just letting things roll this way and until a passionate millionaire who knows what they are doing and knows footy buys penn out which will never happen or not anytime soon then we will remain a circus and I think things are going to get worse for us

 

[Sheikheagle]

Finally thanks for totally ****ing my weekend - good night

Yep i would rather lose on a Sunday rather than a Thursday.

 

[Rafferty]

Stuff Next year.

Lets make it next week

You might get your wish for a week, but then if Slats has a brain cell and I think he does, we’ll be stuck with him……..Seibs is a pick and stick type, sitting his captain and most decorated player out would be a too tough for him, even when he took a sh1t on the place, won’t stop with the theatre, the trick shots, play a captains role and just seems plain uninterested in doing the right thing, oh well, let’s see what happens……

 

[Eagle 1]

It was the Knights ffs

And we couldn't adjust to the loss of ONE player? Tommy Talau was a big loss because the coach and the captain already hadn't been able to adjust to the loss of ONE player.

The game management was not that of even a decent NRL captain and coach, let alone elite

Spot on assessment, losing Talau cost us a try nearly straight away.

 

[LeonardCohen]

It was the Knights ffs

And we couldn't adjust to the loss of ONE player? Tommy Talau was a big loss because the coach and the captain already hadn't been able to adjust to the loss of ONE player.

The game management was not that of even a decent NRL captain and coach, let alone elite

Just giving my take on things.

 

[The Royal Soup]

Ploddell

 

[Nambawan]

So who within the club will have the balls to make the harsh decisions necessary to fix this club? Doesn’t take a genius to realise we need some serious changes, perhaps the club is just too childish or ego driven to admit it?

I’ve tried to back Seibold for as long as I can but tonight and this year is pushing it. I thought 2023 was some solid progression getting us out of the dumps that were late 2022. 2024 was another step forward playing finals. 2025 was meant to be yet another step forward. And it started that way, but we’ve once again gone backwards the year after playing finals. We NEVER play finals one year and then improve on that the next year anymore. It’s not all Seibolds fault, but can’t help but feel like the team are not buying into what he’s doing anymore. DCE said get me out of here ASAP, the rest of the team look like they’re losing interest. The attitude once again was not present in key moments tonight.

These things will not get fixed until someone high up has the guts to make harsh but important changes. But it’s not just getting rid of the guys who aren’t leading us in the right direction, but it’s bringing in guys who will.

I seriously believe this team is, or at least was, so close to doing something big but year after year is wasted potential. We’ve wasted a lot of some special players prime years because the guys running this place make wrong decision after wrong decision. The argument that the players are the reason for this is in part true, but the guys high up are the true reason. Why is it that Melbourne/Penrith can turn the vast majority of their players into stars, while we continue to sign ageing forwards and release youngsters who are now killing it elsewhere? Because they have intelligent people that know what they’re doing and don’t just accept mediocrity if it means more cash.

Maybe this is just that post-loss feeling, but the fact we are getting this so often now is clearly not good. It’s a sad spot to be in. Every year is just the same thing with who was played for about 10 minutes in his last couple of games, and has now been drpped completely. different people nowadays. This club was once winning premierships every decade, it feels VERY LIKELY the 2020’s will put an end to that very special statistic. The 2010’s barely even kept it alive anyway.

If anyone disagrees, feel free to tell me why because I want to be optimistic about this team, I really do, and I hate seeing so much negativity but I just have to be realistic and being realistic right now in my opinion is admitting that we are so far from achieving anything in our current state.

We go again next week, but my excitement on game day is becoming less and less by the week 🦅

Hi Dingo, Agree. I think the club is in a real mess as the poor results relate to all the grades - with not much improvement in prospect due to the seeming shortage of talented younger players coming through. I am not in the know with what is going on internally at the club, but it seems to me that our recruitment has deteriorated with the departure of the Fulton connection? But some of the selection choices are astonishing e.g. our reserve forward last night was the veteran Michael Chee Kam who was let go by Souths, and who has done absolutely nothing in the reserve grade side. And then there is the instance of Caleb Navale whose lack of opportunity is puzzling - suggest his tackling and speed would have been very handy lasty night. Instead we had Waddell there, who is a tryer, but now out of his depth in the NRL. If Navale is persona non grata with Siebold, why not give the likes of young Dunford a go? And of course the whole DCE thing is a fiasco further indicating management deficiencies. And so on and so on.

 

[LeonardCohen]

Agree with a lot of that but with the experienced players we have in the side we should be winning last night. I've never heard of half the Newcastle players in their side last night!

i thought our experienced players were OK. The problem was the torching of our edges where we had players out of the position. It’s not like we made errors down our own end and fridges the Knights cheap ball. They’d just get to halfway and shift and open up our edge and score a great try. That’s not on our experienced players.

 

[Rafferty]

Newcastle were so bad in that first half, we should have been up an extra try or two and had the game buried. We had far too many missed and ineffective tackles and the halves were yet again outplayed and lacked any mature game management. With the addition of some players laughing and smiling as they walked out for the second half, possibly thinking the game was actually done and buried, the result was not a surprise.

Agree and your post reminded me, our captain had a chat and a laugh with Marzhew during the game like they were playing park footy, it grated on me delux at the time, poor leadership……

 

[Rafferty]

We were going ok until dce decided to **** the bed with his kicking game.

3rd tackle booted it so far of the winger's reach, he couldn't get to it if he was 3 metres tall.

Felt he needed to impress slater so again on the third he went for a 40/20, missed and the knights scored the next set.

Then to top it off, booted it out on the full for 'reasons.'

Had players out of position for sure....but that's when real game managers stand up and don't screw the whole system over.

Of course when the game was on the line and he could stand up and take charge, he put up a bomb instead of going for a field goal, then passed the ball (buck) onto Brooks instead of taking another chance.

Way to try and protect your image for soo selction - hope slater sees through it.

That was an utterly disgraceful loss.

100% agree with your post, however I have to ask, hows the positivity vibe travelling after that?

 

[mave]

I feel that this is one of those losses where people are letting their frustrations cloud their judgement. I’m gutted by the loss last night but understand how it happened.

Lehi’s injury meant Ben T was in the centres, but that’s only part of the problem. That meant Corey Waddell moved to an edge, straining the middle rotation. Then, Tommy T went off for 15 minutes, which pushed Garrick to the wing and meant Bullemor moved to an edge, putting further strain on the middle rotation.

As the game wore on, the strain on our middle started to show. One could argue that Newcastle lost Friz, and that’s true but they didnt win the game because their middles stood up. It’s also much easier to replace like for like; they’ve got other middles to play that same position. They barely had the ball in our 20m zone all night. We managed their yardage well for 80 minutes. They scored their tries from shifts to the edge where Ben was out of position.

Calling out a 40/20 as some sort of lack of game management is also bizarre. It’s a great tactic to kick early to avoid bringing a team’s back three onto the ball. He fell short by a metre so the opposition starting a set from 21m out, off a slow play the ball against set defence is not mismanagement.

Were we perfect? Of course not. One more ruck forward before shooting a field goal would have been better. A try before halftime was a missed opportunity. Garrick’s relatively missed easy goal to avoid the deadlock, etc. but those things happen.

I saw a lot of effort last night but the team fatigued in the second half due to the middle rotation so we couldn’t get a lot momentum with the ball and the Knights scored some good tries exposing our weakened edges. That’s how we lost, not some ‘sack Seibold’ ‘get DCE out before the deadline’ ‘sack Ben T’ narrative.

Good thing we spent all of season training to manage chaos.

 

[Rafferty]

Yep i would rather lose on a Sunday rather than a Thursday.

Sounds a bit like Seibs, I’d rather not loose at all….. but I’m with you, I’m in a mood, loosing that game, that way, what else can you say…….

 

[Port Eagle]

I wasted my time going there and watched a disgraceful 2nd half. Should have been up by more at half time. Disgraceful effort against a rubbish side. Pathetic.

 

[globaleagle]

100% agree with your post, however I have to ask, hows the positivity vibe travelling after that?

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7486272751632796974

 

[globaleagle]

I wasted my time going there and watched a disgraceful 2nd half. Should have been up by more at half time. Disgraceful effort against a rubbish side. Pathetic.

It was like looking at the universe. A couple of bright spots surrounded by tons of dark, unknown rubbish.

 

[LeonardCohen]

Good thing we spent all of season training to manage chaos.

id love to hear your thoughts on what that looks like.

 

[Rafferty]

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7486272751632796974

So I wasn’t sure how to take the response, found it funny, made me laugh, my thoughts immediately turned to that ship has sailed, then seeing all the carnage, made me resonate with the wreckage, like a sinking ship, even bought on thoughts of trains, which seemed strange at the time, but then I got it, like a train wreck, anyways…….I think I get it……oh then I read the caption, cause I always choose the pictures before reading the text……I get it now….it’s collapsed.

 

[Wombat64]

Was going to the Titans game next Friday but honestly do I want to put myself through this insanity.

We win one, we lose one ..... we're specials next week.

 

[globaleagle]

So I wasn’t sure how to take the response, found it funny, made me laugh, my thoughts immediately turned to that ship has sailed, then seeing all the carnage, made me resonate with the wreckage, like a sinking ship, even bought of thoughts of trains, which seemed strange at the time, but then I got it, like a train wreck, anyways…….I think I get it……

Stick with the funny bit...saves us going crazy.

without dissecting the reasons...it was just so so so very disappointing to lose that game. Especially with a golden point try, not some assy field goal. And to regather a kick-bomb...omg, just have a go!

We seem to be about 1 or 2 losses from the media adding Jake and Tom's uncertain futures to the dce future distractions. The we have a whole team running around wondering what's happening next year.

It's like we need a coach, or something. As others have said, when we're on...we're on... but when off...we're rubbish.

So lovely to nicely play teams and opposition players into form. How charitable we are.