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HE is the unassuming IT administrator whose passionate plea at a Manly fan forum helped change Sea Eagles history.
Brookvale resident Alf Czharn attended a members gathering earlier this month, rose to his feet and stated his case to owner and chairman Scott Penn as to why the Sea Eagles needed to sign a coach with Manly DNA.
The 50-year-old then referred to the history of Manly’s success under coaches who have also played at Brookvale, dating back to 1951.
The minute-long speech had a long-lasting impact on Penn, who reached out to Des Hasler the very next day.
“We had a couple of members who were incredibly vocal at the forum,” Penn said. “One in particular (Czharn) got up and literally detailed every coach and every premiership. It was impressive and convinced me the time was right (for Hasler’s return).
Czharn got his wish on Monday when Manly formally signed Hasler to a three-year deal to return to the peninsula.
A Sea Eagles fan for 36 years, Czharn hadn’t even planned on talking at the forum.
But Manly is in his blood. He met his met wife Debbie at a match at Brookvale and now have a 10-year-old daughter, Erin.
“If it wasn’t for Manly, we wouldn’t be a family,” Debbie said.
It was that burst of Manly pride and a desire for his club to return to the top forced Czharn from his seat.
“One of the fans mentioned that they should hire someone from within and I brought up the stats,” Czharn said.
“Every single coach that has taken us to a grand final — and there’s been 19 grand finals — has been an ex-Manly player with grand final experience. That was the key.
“It’s not by chance or coincidence over 10 or 20 years — it’s a 70-year stat. I think it resonated with Scott. I’m glad it did because I think that’s the formula we need.”
Hasler, Bob Fulton, Ron Willey and Frank Stanton all won premierships at Manly as coach after representing the club as players. Other former Sea Eagles players also led Manly to grand finals.
“It’s one of those things that has worked for us,” Czharn said. “We’ve had a lot of problems this year and we’re kind of desperate.
“I wasn’t planning to speak but I thought if I threw in some stats it might help. I put my hand up.
“I didn’t really want to speak — I want to be low key — but I put my hand up because I thought it could help kick it along. I did notice Scott was receptive. It was good he gave fans a chance to have their say I wanted to be low key but I am pleased I did speak.”
Penn listened and former Manly halfback Hasler, part of the Sea Eagles’ 1987 grand final-winning side, is back as head coach for the next three years.
“Des is a guy with experience and the fans will welcome him back,” Czharn said. “I think it’s cleansed his soul that he is coming back to the club in a good way.”
Penn clearly remembered Czharn speaking at the member’s forum, held at Manly Leagues Club.
“It made us take stock,” Penn said. You take those comments back and ask ‘who else can we have in the mix and who can we look at?’
“It was worth a reach out (to Hasler). It was literally the next day we did. We had dialogue with Des but it was at that point we knew to press the button to a point of deeper discussion.”
It wouldn't have been easy to bury the hatchet but desperate times call for desperate measures and thankfully the Penns listened to the members and did what's needed to be done.
