Pre-Game Manly V Broncos [Round 13, 2025]

[Chunkytuna]

100% didn’t matter who they had in the halves.

Honestly Billy should never have picked dce though. Perfect time to start fresh after losing last series. Now what does he do, keep picking him or bite the bullet and move in?

But what about picking and sticking?? Surely that’s the QLD way??

 

[Thewestisbest]

LOL.. you really got me my man. Well done. I see your friend brookie enjoyed it. I'm sure some high fives between yourselves?

I've gone on record saying I think Siebold is a mediocre coach and am happy to bag him where I see he's made mistakes.

But I will call out guys like yourself that Just outright make sh1t up about him. I'll do this for anyone. Because we have it on record from you that it's Siebold that makes the recruitment calls. Is that factual?

This is becoming farcical. Are you seriously implying that the coach doesn't make recruitment calls?

Evidence please. Perhaps an article or quote from Seibold.

Here's a recent excerpt from a Paul Crawley article from two days ago

PRESSURE MOUNTS AT MANLY

"Manly life member Peter Peters certainly didn’t miss on Sunday’s Big Sports Breakfast when he declared the pack that ran out against Parramatta was the worst he’s seen in his 54-year association with the club.

And it’s a legitimate question to ask what is going on with their roster under the guidance of Anthony Seibold who is now halfway through his third year at the club.

As Peters said: “Some of the scouting there to bring reserve grade players, veteran players to the club that aren’t firing is beyond me."

Give it up @Rocky you're punch drunk.

 

[Thewestisbest]

LOL.. you really got me my man. Well done. I see your friend brookie enjoyed it. I'm sure some high fives between yourselves?

I've gone on record saying I think Siebold is a mediocre coach and am happy to bag him where I see he's made mistakes.

But I will call out guys like yourself that Just outright make sh1t up about him. I'll do this for anyone. Because we have it on record from you that it's Siebold that makes the recruitment calls. Is that factual?

What shiit have I outright made up about him?

Please put me on show.

 

[Chunkytuna]

I suspect Manly will win this one for two reasons. They are playing at home and don't want to embarrass themselves before their attending supporters. Secondly they don't want to embarrass themselves before their supporters in general after such a few poor displays recently. Hopefully also DCE will up his game after losing the SOO. He has much to prove if he wants to head to the hen house.

Hasn’t seemed to concern them for the last few pathetic performances at Brooky. I’ll be going again on Saturday and I hope you’re right - i highly doubt it though. If we had Tom playing i’d say we would be a decent chance, not because he’s playing so well but because he makes defences panic and play differently - make mistakes. Lehi, as good as he’s going, doesn’t have that effect on the defence.

 

[madmax]

This is becoming farcical. Are you seriously implying that the coach doesn't make recruitment calls?

Evidence please. Perhaps an article or quote from Seibold.

Here's a recent excerpt from a Paul Crawley article from two days ago

PRESSURE MOUNTS AT MANLY

"Manly life member Peter Peters certainly didn’t miss on Sunday’s Big Sports Breakfast when he declared the pack that ran out against Parramatta was the worst he’s seen in his 54-year association with the club.

And it’s a legitimate question to ask what is going on with their roster under the guidance of Anthony Seibold who is now halfway through his third year at the club.

As Peters said: “Some of the scouting there to bring reserve grade players, veteran players to the club that aren’t firing is beyond me."

Give it up @Rocky you're punch drunk.

Clubs employ recruitment scouts to find decent players to sign! The coach coaches & yes does have a say but again does not make final decisions. Get over it mate you’re making yourself look silly with your constant bagging of Siebold.

 

[Thewestisbest]

Clubs employ recruitment scouts to find decent players to sign! The coach coaches & yes does have a say but again does not make final decisions. Get over it mate you’re making yourself look silly with your constant bagging of Siebold.

I understand where you are coming from Max, but I disagree strongly on this one. I'd love nothing more than for Seibold to put a decent roster together and slap egg all over my face. I just don't have faith he is the man to turn our club around. Also, it has been heavily reported that Ciraldo went hard at Galvin, Chricton and Kikau. The coach definitely has a big say in recruitment. Otherwise, every coach who gets punted would trot out the line "my hands were tied and I couldn't recruit the players I wanted." Sure there are scouts etc. But the coach is the main guy.

Think how many players talk about Bellamy and Robertson sitting down with them before they signed. Selling their club and goals as part of the pitch. No way a coach agrees to sign a player he clearly doesn't want. Go and watch Seibold talk about the great signings he made in the off season.

I like your unbridled positivity and your loyalty and wish I felt the same way.

 

[Brookie1973]

Clubs employ recruitment scouts to find decent players to sign! The coach coaches & yes does have a say but again does not make final decisions. Get over it mate you’re making yourself look silly with your constant bagging of Siebold.

The only people looking silly are the ones who blindly support the coach and question anyone who dares suggest he may be the problem. In their world, Seibold is unique in the history of world sport as the only coach who cannot be criticised for a team not performing. The ones who complain about the “constant bagging” but don’t realise they are just as guilty of “constantly criticising” the “constant bagging.”

 

[Phobia]

I understand where you are coming from Max, but I disagree strongly on this one. I'd love nothing more than for Seibold to put a decent roster together and slap egg all over my face. I just don't have faith he is the man to turn our club around. Also, it has been heavily reported that Ciraldo went hard at Galvin, Chricton and Kikau. The coach definitely has a big say in recruitment. Otherwise, every coach who gets punted would trot out the line "my hands were tied and I couldn't recruit the players I wanted." Sure there are scouts etc. But the coach is the main guy.

Think how many players talk about Bellamy and Robertson sitting down with them before they signed. Selling their club and goals as part of the pitch. No way a coach agrees to sign a player he clearly doesn't want. Go and watch Seibold talk about the great signings he made in the off season.

I like your unbridled positivity and your loyalty and wish I felt the same way.

I don't think he has the cap space. You said he went after Flegler, which is true, but this was prior to the 2023 season where he truly established himself, and before the Dolphins offered him a boat load of money.

Remember, hypothetically, we could have say 800k of cap space available. However, this needs to be distributed to X roster places with a minimum of $150,000 per spot. You cannot leave these spots unfilled, as in you can't run with 29/30 spots filled and use the $150,000 elsewhere. This minimum wage increased between 2023 and 2024 IIRC, so a greater proportion of the cap had to go towards those lower end spots.

Since Seibold arrived, we have done the following major roster changes:

- Upgraded Garrick to an unknown total <$550k, to scare away Knights

- Upgraded Koula to an unknown total <$550k, to scare away Union

- Downgraded Schuster to $615k

- Upgraded Haumole from $750k in 24/25 to $900k from '26 onwards, to prevent free agency

- Signed Luke Brooks to a $650k deal

- Extended Sipley on a ~300k deal

- Released Tuilagi on a decent sum

- Released Keppie on a decent sum

- Released Schuster, onto an unknown payout. The media is making **** up here, I don't believe he is in our cap anymore.

- DCE's contract goes down to $900k

- Signed Fogarty for <$700k

- Upgraded Paseka to $600k to scare away Bears

- Extended Saab on $300k

- Extended Burbo on an unknown amount

- Upgraded Hoppa to an unknown amount

- Upgraded Bullemor to an unknown amount

Minor Roster changes:

Talau $200k
Brown $200k
Lodge $80k
Navale $80k
Aitasi James $150k
Clayton Faulalo $150k
Jake Arthur $150k
MCK $150k
Schoupp $150k
Waddell $150k
Walsh $150k
GCKT $150k
TKO $150k

Looking at all of the above, unless you sign complete reserve graders, I have absolutely no idea where you expect new players to come from. No young NRL quality prop, in a prop shortage, is coming to Manly on $150k. We can promote from within, which is seeing Navale and Laiafi becoming Top 30 players next year.

It's almost like we have $3 million held up in three players, that Seibold didn't sign. No, couldn't be! I seriously don't know what you expect.

 

[Super Coach Eagle]

Will Brisbane know where to park the bus and where they have to walk to the away sheds this week.

11 years FMD.

What rot they haven't been to Brookvale in over a decade.

I can't wait to see the Brookie hill give it to Ezra Mam this week.

 

[Dingo]

Doesn’t matter what team is selected we have been inconsistent for 10 years now and that’s why a lot of people including myself have had enough but nothing will change while Penn runs the show he has zero idea when it comes to running a successful club and he is a tight arse with his money

Well unfortunately it seems a lot of clubs now just operate to make money, rather than actually have proper success on the field. I feel like we are very much in that boat.

 

[Wombat64]

The only people looking silly are the ones who blindly support the coach and question anyone who dares suggest he may be the problem. In their world, Seibold is unique in the history of world sport as the only coach who cannot be criticised for a team not performing. The ones who complain about the “constant bagging” but don’t realise they are just as guilty of “constantly criticising” the “constant bagging.”

Blaming the coach for our current circumstance is just too simplistic. There are also a large group of people on here who are neutral towards Seibold and see him as part of the issue but not the whole problem or sacking him as the solution. Under our current structure I don't see us performing much better with a different coach. Would we be more successful if we had Bennett or Bellamy? Maybe but I don't know for sure. A club is the sum of parts and the coach is just part of that. If the coach doesn't have the support, systems or infrastructure in place to be successful then it is very hard for any coach to be a winner..... Wining clubs are good at all aspects and they are winning not just because they have a so called "good" coach.

 

[Eagle 1]

NSW commentators starting to beat the drum to have him dropped.

Joey Johns said Slater should pull the trigger, meaning Slater should drop DCE.

 

[Wombat64]

Joey Johns said Slater should pull the trigger, meaning Slater should drop DCE.

That would be funny ...... at the moment every game DCE plays he's lowering his value

 

[Eagle 1]

That would be funny ...... at the moment every game DCE plays he's lowering his value

He's probably thinking 700k from us, maybe I should have took it...lol.

 

[Thewestisbest]

I don't think he has the cap space. You said he went after Flegler, which is true, but this was prior to the 2023 season where he truly established himself, and before the Dolphins offered him a boat load of money.

Remember, hypothetically, we could have say 800k of cap space available. However, this needs to be distributed to X roster places with a minimum of $150,000 per spot. You cannot leave these spots unfilled, as in you can't run with 29/30 spots filled and use the $150,000 elsewhere. This minimum wage increased between 2023 and 2024 IIRC, so a greater proportion of the cap had to go towards those lower end spots.

Since Seibold arrived, we have done the following major roster changes:

- Upgraded Garrick to an unknown total <$550k, to scare away Knights

- Upgraded Koula to an unknown total <$550k, to scare away Union

- Downgraded Schuster to $615k

- Upgraded Haumole from $750k in 24/25 to $900k from '26 onwards, to prevent free agency

- Signed Luke Brooks to a $650k deal

- Extended Sipley on a ~300k deal

- Released Tuilagi on a decent sum

- Released Keppie on a decent sum

- Released Schuster, onto an unknown payout. The media is making **** up here, I don't believe he is in our cap anymore.

- DCE's contract goes down to $900k

- Signed Fogarty for <$700k

- Upgraded Paseka to $600k to scare away Bears

- Extended Saab on $300k

- Extended Burbo on an unknown amount

- Upgraded Hoppa to an unknown amount

- Upgraded Bullemor to an unknown amount

Minor Roster changes:

Talau $200k
Brown $200k
Lodge $80k
Navale $80k
Aitasi James $150k
Clayton Faulalo $150k
Jake Arthur $150k
MCK $150k
Schoupp $150k
Waddell $150k
Walsh $150k
GCKT $150k
TKO $150k

Looking at all of the above, unless you sign complete reserve graders, I have absolutely no idea where you expect new players to come from. No young NRL quality prop, in a prop shortage, is coming to Manly on $150k. We can promote from within, which is seeing Navale and Laiafi becoming Top 30 players next year.

It's almost like we have $3 million held up in three players, that Seibold didn't sign. No, couldn't be! I seriously don't know what you expect.

Far out you "we have 3 players taking up 3million"brigade are slow.

Melbourne have Hughes on 900k, Munster on 1 million, Pappy, 900k, NAS 850k, Grant on 900k, Utoikamanu on 850k. And yet they signed Pahulu this week. Not to mention the talent within the rest of the squad. Roosters are the Same. Penrith too and they added Papalii and Talagi.

Tired old excuses - tired old forwards.

Peter Peters has called out Spoons recruitment strategy this week. But what would he know?

 

[Phobia]

Far out you "we have 3 players taking up 3million"brigade are slow.

Melbourne have Hughes on 900k, Munster on 1 million, Pappy, 900k, NAS 850k, Grant on 900k, Utoikamanu on 850k. And yet they signed Pahulu this week. Not to mention the talent within the rest of the squad. Roosters are the Same. Penrith too and they added Papalii and Talagi.

Tired old excuses - tired old forwards.

Peter Peters has called out Spoons recruitment strategy this week. But what would he know?

They can take people on unders, because they actually have had a functional system with a functional coach for a long time, that players want to go to... And they are given leeway in third party agreements outside of the cap to keep Melbourne competitive. Fairly sure you've bumped up both NAS and Utoikamanu's salary there too, I believe he went there on much less than he was on at the Tigers.

You will see with the people outside of the top roster positions, they are on considerably less than they would be earning at other clubs, because they are making a choice to be paid less, to develop under Bellamy, and within the Storm "system". Do you expect us to just get a Bellamy? That's a ridiculous expectation.

We have just started rebuilding the club in the past few years into more of a "system". Prior to then, the entire club was built around a Des. A single operator with his hands on everything... It quickly became outdated throughout the mid-late 2010's, and Barrett in particular couldn't even begin to handle it. Instead of building a system... We just brought Des back. That set us back by years.

Des had his hands on literally every facet of the operation, for better, or for worse. It's why Des's men in Bonasera, Hales, etc have been maintained. Without Des's men there would be no club left.

Unfortunately, Des was no Bellamy. His moneyball alternatives for the Horwarths and the Andersons that the Storm have, were Parker and Harper. He couldn't turn them into world beaters. Only proven systems can do so, and that is a club-wide effort.

I don't think we would immediately be world beaters if we didn't have the big three, but we would be better placed to look for value in other options to build a "system" around. It may not reduce the salary of our fullback, but if we can make every outside back first grade standard, that's a starting point to build from. We have seen that improve in recent years. Now it's onto the forwards.

 

[The Who]

Perhaps we need Ange to Spur us to success?

 

[SeaEagle007]

I want to see Cliffy Lyons be our coach!!!

 

[Brookie1973]

Blaming the coach for our current circumstance is just too simplistic. There are also a large group of people on here who are neutral towards Seibold and see him as part of the issue but not the whole problem or sacking him as the solution. Under our current structure I don't see us performing much better with a different coach. Would we be more successful if we had Bennett or Bellamy? Maybe but I don't know for sure. A club is the sum of parts and the coach is just part of that. If the coach doesn't have the support, systems or infrastructure in place to be successful then it is very hard for any coach to be a winner..... Wining clubs are good at all aspects and they are winning not just because they have a so called "good" coach.

I agree, we have lots of problems. I just see nothing in Seibold that gives me confidence he can be part of the solution. He doesn’t seem to ingrain a particular playing style, he seems to defer to senior players too often and he doesn’t seem to be a development style coach that can nurture the next generation. The results are too inconsistent and do not suggest we are on an upward trajectory, but rather, we have thrown all our eggs into the “premiership window” apparition, which is rapidly disappearing. I still have no idea what his strengths are as a coach that warrants him being given a free pass by so many on here.

Getting rid of the coach may not change things, but it has a better chance of doing so that just moaning about Penn not being rich enough.

But these are all things I have said before, and I only repeat them here because I respect your opinion, but this will no doubt prompt another round of posts from people complaining about people who want to change the coach.

 

[susan]

Well put al. Add to this their two best players are off the back of big origin loads and we certainly should be highly favoured. But like many views here, this team is a total coin toss in terms of results. Everything looks likely we could get up, but because of that we’ll probably lose again.

Not sure about highly favoured

Home ground? - lost last 3
Lost 5 from last 7
Except 2021 I think they have been beating us for fun lately , admittedly at home

Man for man on paper they beat us easily but everything points to big internal trouble in both camps so hard to pick

I think they either flog us or it will be tight struggle
Can’t see us putting a lot of points on minus Tom