KIERAN Foran has opened up about why he turned down the chance to reunite with Des Hasler at the Bulldogs last year to stay at Manly.
He admits it was like trying to choose between your father and your brothers - but the special bond that kept him at the club will again be the Sea Eagles’ secret weapon in Sunday’s Grand Final.
Foran’s combination with Daly Cherry-Evans is today rated the best halves partnership in the game and, at 23 and 24 respectively, this will be their second grand final together after their win under Hasler in 2011.
But Foran’s decision to stay ended up being the best move he never made.
The tough five-eighth had a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave once Hasler was no longer coaching Manly.
He admits he was a phone call away from reuniting with his old coach at the Bulldogs but as much as he felt drawn to Hasler he said he just couldn’t walk away from his teammates.
"When I came to Manly, Dessy was such a big influence on the club, that is all I kind of ever knew,” Foran explained.
"And then when he left I just thought it would never happen, not in my wildest dreams.
"I thought I would play at Manly the rest of my life and Des Hasler would be the coach.
"So when that happened it was a big change to my life.
"Look, that was a tough time.
"I’ve got so many great mates, I didn’t want to leave them.
"I just needed time to sit back and think what this club was about and what actually made it so special.
"And when I got down to the finer points it was about this culture.
"The players, the boys that have been here for so many years, I didn’t want to walk away from that."
So he stayed with Manly and the rest is now history.
Plenty of people have been amazed by the courage that has inspired their charge through the finals after Manly were basically given up for dead three weeks ago.
But courageous back-to-back wins over Cronulla and Souths have them today being hailed as one of the bravest teams ever assembled.
And evidence of that commitment to each other was on show the day Foran turned down Hasler’s offer.
Many of his teammates including halves partner Cherry-Evans had him gone to the Bulldogs for sure.
"From my personal conversations with Kieran he was obviously pretty much gone," Cherry-Evans said this week.
“So for him to have something click and have him stay was huge for the club.
"I am very, very happy that Kieran made that decision to stay.
"I’d hate to see him play for any other club because I think he is the sort of guy this team needs for the next seven to 10 years.
"He is a competitor. It doesn’t matter if it is on or off the field, he is a competitive guy.
"And above all that he is a good person.
"He means well, he is kind-hearted, he would do no wrong by his teammates or his family.
"He is the sort of person I enjoy being around and the sort of person I’d have to have this relationship with for the rest of my life."
Foran added: "It was just about me making a decision that I thought was best for my footy and my life and when I added those things up it was to stay at Manly.
"This is a great footy club. I have great mates here, blokes I hope to be mates with for years to come and I just didn’t want to walk away from that.
"That is the culture I’m talking about. Blokes like 'Choc' Watmough, Jason King, Brent Kite, Glenn Stewart, Brett Stewart, Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai - they have built this culture and that is who I give the credit to.
"They have built this up for eight or nine years and now all of a sudden us young guys are coming through and we feed off that.’’
Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/why-kieran-foran-chose-manly-over-des-hasler-and-stayed-with-the-manly-sea-eagles/story-e6frf3ou-1226731805685#ixzz2gZisw6u4
He admits it was like trying to choose between your father and your brothers - but the special bond that kept him at the club will again be the Sea Eagles’ secret weapon in Sunday’s Grand Final.
Foran’s combination with Daly Cherry-Evans is today rated the best halves partnership in the game and, at 23 and 24 respectively, this will be their second grand final together after their win under Hasler in 2011.
But Foran’s decision to stay ended up being the best move he never made.
The tough five-eighth had a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave once Hasler was no longer coaching Manly.
He admits he was a phone call away from reuniting with his old coach at the Bulldogs but as much as he felt drawn to Hasler he said he just couldn’t walk away from his teammates.
"When I came to Manly, Dessy was such a big influence on the club, that is all I kind of ever knew,” Foran explained.
"And then when he left I just thought it would never happen, not in my wildest dreams.
"I thought I would play at Manly the rest of my life and Des Hasler would be the coach.
"So when that happened it was a big change to my life.
"Look, that was a tough time.
"I’ve got so many great mates, I didn’t want to leave them.
"I just needed time to sit back and think what this club was about and what actually made it so special.
"And when I got down to the finer points it was about this culture.
"The players, the boys that have been here for so many years, I didn’t want to walk away from that."
So he stayed with Manly and the rest is now history.
Plenty of people have been amazed by the courage that has inspired their charge through the finals after Manly were basically given up for dead three weeks ago.
But courageous back-to-back wins over Cronulla and Souths have them today being hailed as one of the bravest teams ever assembled.
And evidence of that commitment to each other was on show the day Foran turned down Hasler’s offer.
Many of his teammates including halves partner Cherry-Evans had him gone to the Bulldogs for sure.
"From my personal conversations with Kieran he was obviously pretty much gone," Cherry-Evans said this week.
“So for him to have something click and have him stay was huge for the club.
"I am very, very happy that Kieran made that decision to stay.
"I’d hate to see him play for any other club because I think he is the sort of guy this team needs for the next seven to 10 years.
"He is a competitor. It doesn’t matter if it is on or off the field, he is a competitive guy.
"And above all that he is a good person.
"He means well, he is kind-hearted, he would do no wrong by his teammates or his family.
"He is the sort of person I enjoy being around and the sort of person I’d have to have this relationship with for the rest of my life."
Foran added: "It was just about me making a decision that I thought was best for my footy and my life and when I added those things up it was to stay at Manly.
"This is a great footy club. I have great mates here, blokes I hope to be mates with for years to come and I just didn’t want to walk away from that.
"That is the culture I’m talking about. Blokes like 'Choc' Watmough, Jason King, Brent Kite, Glenn Stewart, Brett Stewart, Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai - they have built this culture and that is who I give the credit to.
"They have built this up for eight or nine years and now all of a sudden us young guys are coming through and we feed off that.’’
Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/why-kieran-foran-chose-manly-over-des-hasler-and-stayed-with-the-manly-sea-eagles/story-e6frf3ou-1226731805685#ixzz2gZisw6u4
