Time to Stop Lying to Ourselves – Manly Needs a Full Reset

[BOZO]

I can't help but think that everyone is overreacting... We lost three in a row last year, beat the Storm. We lost three in a row this year, we play the Panthers.

Perspective BIG Time ....
Overreacting ? Overreacting?? Overreacting???
You have Got to be Kidding !
In our long and Suffering Decade of Premiership Winning Decline
We have Lost our Great Manly Winning Status
and We are Overreacting ?
We are not Overreacting . We are Over the Incompetence of the Ones Running our Manly club down to their Mediocre Level .

 

[Thewestisbest]

We might be on the last train to spoonville

Not according to some. Apparently it's just a flesh wound. Nothing to see here, we are good as gold my friend.

 

[BOZO]

Mind you , I’m sure Scott and co would love success ( they’ve tasted it a couple of times ) but what I don’t see is increased investment to achieve those aims.

Scott and Co ?
Who are the Co?
It Seems that they are his Co Puppets that let him do as he Pleases .
I am not sure there is anyone left from the Board that backed our Premiership Winning owner Max Delmege

Having Money is Great I am All for it .... That's Business
I am Happy for Rich People to have Money because they deserve it
Owning a Club that has No success is a Failure .... That's Sport
Penn is in the wrong game. Because In Sport he is a Rich Loser

 

[sheridanstand78]

Ive said over the longest time that the health of our club and playing roster is chronic at the moment.

Lets start with the positives. The club has achieved record membership and sells Brooky out nearly every home game now. The club has done a good job in engaging the fan base. It will also help our case to get Brooky upgraded if the ground is packed each week.

We need to need to examine where we are as a club. I agree that the identity of the place is not certain right now.

Our minor grades and junior teams concern me. I see some potential but consistently our teams are well beaten most weeks and that is something that needs to change.

Our recruitment is a real issue. There seems to be this obsession with buying bargain based older players who are seeking one last contract, rather than investing and developing younger players. There are too many bandaid solutions and not addressing the weaknesses. For example, since Manase Fainus demise, the role of hooker has been our achillies heel, we have not had a consistent hooker who controls the dummy half and ruck and it puts us behin the 8 ball in too many games.

Our current first team has some obvious weaknesses. We lack an imposing prop to lead the team around, there is no fear factor in our pack apart from Oka and Bullemor. We need a class lock forward who is creative and gives us an extra dimension to compliment our halves. We have weaknesse in our right side defence, Saab and Garrick are too often exposed and caught out and we leak too many points down that side.

The elephant in the room is our salary cap and its lack of balance, we know DCE is moving on, we will also know later this year what happens with the Turbos. This is crucial because they are consuming a lot of the cap and the return on investment is not there. I love Tommy but he misses too many games. Jake is no longer an effective lock forward and should only play front row for 60 minutes a game max!

The morale right now is fragile, with DCE going its really affected the team and the fractures from jersey gate really split the team. We need a squad of 30 who will bleed for our jersey, be really together and that has really been missing since our last great team.

The management of the club need to communicate more effectively with the fans and members, one of the huge frustrations about supporting Manly is getting information about injured players etc.

The club does need a reset and the issue of who will be our next captain needs to be announced real soon so the players have a leader who is committed to our cause.

We have talent in the club, it just needs to lead and nurtured. It is so frustrating to see so many of our juniors doing so well at other clubs.

We need Manly people running the club, people who understand the culture and identity of what made our club feared and hated. Right now there is a soft underbelly and we need to lose that.

I am an optimist, I know it can change, 2025 I think is going to be a season when we learn who is really committed to the club and the goal has to be to get the blend right to try and fight for a finals place but to also ensure that every Manly team moving forward is competitive and on a good pathway.

Lots to do!

 

[Bringbackcliffy]

I can't help but think that everyone is overreacting... We lost three in a row last year, beat the Storm. We lost three in a row this year, we play the Panthers.

Obviously there are long term structural issues with the club, but I've maintained that opinion even when we have been winning. A lot of people are entirely changing their outlook based upon three losses in a two week period.

Bombing the season, or sacking everyone, or whatever, doesn't achieve anything. It's not like we have a draft. Especially with two new teams coming, no one is going to want to play for Manly if we bomb ourselves out. I'd rather mediocrity than five years of being crap and constantly rebuilding.

I can't see a single thing you've said that Seibold and Mestrov wouldn't be trying to do. You say we need more hard nosed local forwards... Did those two not make Anthony Watmough one of the junior development coaches?

Like a lot of this seems like moot because we're actively doing basically all of it. Resets don't happen overnight, if you want them to have any kind of success. The Ciraldo Bulldogs nearly copped a spoon to get where they are now, and even then, that near-spoon side occasionally seeps through.

We shoudn't dig ourselves a hole just so we have a way upwards.

I guess we’ll know more when the contracts of Jake, toff, lodge, brown, Jazz, James, Waddell, Taukeiaho etc expire. If we persist with this lumbering, slow paced forward pack they either have no better options or no idea.

 

[The '47ers]

The big crowds and excitement came off the backend of last year, it'll all come to a grinding halt if these "efforts" keep being produced.
It's like watching a cyclone bearing down on you on the weather radar.

 

[Frogz]

We don't have an owner capable of a reset. He has had control since 2014 and guess what has happened since then ... SFA....... Under Penn our club wont get out of the doldrums we are in and have been in.

 

[The Who]

Despite their loss last night , why are the Bulldogs doing so well ??

They got Gus Gould , an old boy , on side.

They got a very very rich benefactor on side.

They then recruited probably the best young assistant coach in the game.

They then went about recruiting some real gun players , and some very good “ rest of the team “ players.

No one ( of their existing players ) were safe.

Bulldogs also were among the two worst clubs in the premiership for a few years. Then the Leagues Club and sponsors tipped in buckets of cash, above and beyond the Cap yet 'mysteriously' hidden from NRL auditors (if there is such a thing).
At least we've never won a wooden spoon.
I'd suggest, if the MW Leagues Club was as profitable as the DY RSL Club then we'd have bought ourselves greater success.

 

[Ned]

This club needs a reset. Not a tweak. Not a new assistant coach or a shiny signing. A reset. From the ground up. Because right now, Manly doesn’t know what it is. One week we throw the ball around like it’s a trial match, next week they’re grinding through a 10-8 slog. There’s no identity. No backbone. No real standard being lived out week to week.

The first thing that needs to be done is to get the right people in the room. Football people. Not board members, not sponsors, not marketing reps. Coaches. Recruiters. Junior development staff. Anyone whose job it is to build footballers. And ask one question: What does a Manly footballer look like? Because if you can’t answer that, you’ve got no business running a rugby league club. Once you know that, every decision flows from it.

Then we fix the pathways. Manly used to produce tough, smart, club-first kids. Not anymore. That pipeline’s dried up. You’ve got to invest in junior programs, build coaching continuity from Harold Matts to Cup, and give young players a reason to stay loyal. The Northern Beaches should be your factory. Right now, it’s barely a backyard shed. That needs to change.

Recruitment needs to be smarter. No more panic buys. No more “mate of a mate” signings, looking at you Isaac. No more washed up old front rowers or money ball signings. You don’t build a team by collecting names. You build it by identifying blokes who fit your identity and make others around them better. I’d rather three six-out-of-ten players who know their role than one nine-out-of-ten hero who’s not interested in digging in on tackle four. Build the middle third, get your spine settled, and stop plugging holes with random signings who don't fix your real issues.

And for God’s sake, we need to set standards. Not slogans like 'The Manly Way'. Standards. You train a certain way. You compete a certain way. You carry yourself a certain way because you’re wearing that jersey. Right now, too many blokes in that side look like they’re happy just being there. That’s not first grade. That’s entitlement. It doesn't help that the coach doesn't drop players for poor performances. You don't win games on history or potential, you win them on effort, discipline, and doing your job for the bloke next to you.

The club can turn around. But only if it’s honest with itself. No more papering over the cracks with a Turbo highlights reel. No more PR spin. You fix this thing by building strong foundations, holding people accountable, and actually standing for something again.

And when that happens? Then the rest takes care of itself.

You are right. and you're wrong. I had a mate when I was a junior tech say this and for me it helped me understand wtf was going on, so let me explain. You are correct that this "team" isn't performing as would be expected, are the dogs performing as expected prior to the season start? The dogs, prior to this week have been playing as a team and that is where we are lacking. Manly doesn't have the team attitude. Our prior winning teams 2008, 2011, and I'd say any winning team plays as a team, usually led by the captain, who should be someone dedicated to the team and the goal, which is victory in every match (that is the goal and not the result every time of course) and winning the premiership at the end. You can change players and coaches but to win in a team sport you need a team, a real team that will give 100% every time to get the team the win. That's Bennet's success, he makes a great team, not a bunch of good players, and of course you need good players, but you can win with lesser players that all play as a team. Cherry is captain now, is he dedicated to Manly? Don't think so as he's off next year. the coach needs to grab these players by the scruff of the neck, make a new captain and make them into a team, with a real leader. A cleanout may be needed, but if that happens the coach will still need to make a team of the new recruits to have any success. Ciraldo has done this so it's possible.

I may be wrong but I think if the coach can get them to be a team with a single belief and dedication to attaining that they can do well, maybe win, if he can't then let's look at reset.