‘It’s not unique to Des’: Manly defend performance clause in Hasler deal
The Sea Eagles are on the brink of their worst start to a season in more than a decade. But the club’s majority owner and chairman says the expectation is to still play finals in 2021.
Manly owner and chairman Scott Penn has defended the controversial performance clause inserted into the contract of coach Des Hasler and insisted the embattled Sea Eagles can still reach the finals despite an abject start to the year.
Facing their worst beginning to an NRL season in more than a decade if they lose to title heavyweights Penrith on Thursday night, the Sea Eagles are under mounting pressure to justify extending Hasler’s tenure at Brookvale.
The two-time premiership winner signed a two-year extension less than a fortnight ago, but Hasler will need to make the finals either this year or next to activate the final 12 months of that deal in 2023.
Arriving at the agreement had been a drawn-out process, but Penn said the club was comfortable with the performance clause, which was a feature of Nathan Brown’s former deal with the Knights.
“I’ll never speak specifically about Des’ contract as that’s confidential, but every coach effectively has a performance clause,” Penn said. “It’s not unique to Des.
“The whole game is based on performance. It’s inherent in any coach’s tenure. It’s irrelevant what’s in specific contracts. Everyone expects the team to perform - that’s what the coach gets paid for.”
Hasler has said he won’t rush the return of superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic, who has missed their opening three losses with a hamstring injury.
And the Sea Eagles looked miles off the pace as St George Illawarra romped to a 38-12 win, prompting bookmakers to install them as third favourites behind Brisbane and the Bulldogs to chalk up most losses this season.
But Penn, who splits his time between Sydney and New York and will exit hotel quarantine on Thursday before the Panthers clash, didn’t back down from his assertion the Sea Eagles can be a finals force.
They have matches against the Warriors, Titans and Tigers in between two clashes with the Panthers over the next month, with the New Zealand clash in round five pencilled in for Tom Trbojevic’s return.
“The current performance isn’t where any of us want to be,” Penn said. “You have to play finals. Fans expect us to play finals. It’s an expectation and it’s where we want to be.
“We’ve definitely got the squad to be competitive. There’s no doubting we have the talent. We’ve got some phenomenal juniors coming through the system too. We couldn’t be prouder of how they’re playing at the moment
“It’s still very early. It was difficult to lose Tom before the start of the season and it’s always the challenge when you lose key players early in the season. To lose them is disruptive, there’s no question.
“You can’t just click your fingers and suddenly find another gear. [But] I’m very confident when we get a couple of these guys back we’ll be where we wanted to start. We’ve always respected Des as a coach and we’ve never interfered with Des’ coaching. He knows how to turn it around.
“We’re not where we want to be, but we know where we’re going.”
