Win or bust for Anthony Seibold: the massive stakes in Manly's high-risk appointment
Anthony Seibold is yet to be confirmed as the new coach of the Manly Sea Eagles, but it seems like a foregone conclusion.
Seibold is the odds on favourite to replace the now-departed Des Hasler, marking a shocking return to the NRL after two nightmarish seasons with the Brisbane Broncos.
The acrimonious circumstances in which he left Red Hill were as public as could be, as was the soap opera that played out when he arrived, swapping jobs with supercoach Wayne Bennett.
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The parallels in this situation can't be ignored, either. Brisbane parted ways with a beloved, premiership-winning coach to take a chance on Seibold, with the majority of fans firmly against the move.
Putting aside his existing duties as an assistant for the English rugby team, if and when this appointment is made official, you have to consider why Manly are doing this.
Former Broncos and Rabbitohs coach Anthony Seibold is expected to take over at Manly. Getty
Is it because they're rebuilding for the future? Or is because they truly believe that Hasler has taken them as far as he can?
It can't really be the former - Manly, as a squad, are in 'win now' mode - Daly Cherry-Evans is 33, Jake and Tom Trbojevic are 28, and 26, respectively.
Other important players, who have been developed since their late teens and early 20s, such as Reuben Garrick, Taniela Paseka, and Haumole Olakau'atu, are now entering their prime.
However last year's campaign ended, they showed in 2021 that they can stick around at the pointy end of the season. Seibold preached patience in the 'project' that Brisbane were building in 2019 (who could forget that newspaper cut-out?) before it all came crashing down.
The contrasting point is that he hit the ground running with Souths in 2018, who were in a similar situation as Manly find themselves in now. Plenty of star power, but a playing group that was clearly not playing for their coach anymore.
It was perhaps not down to who replaced Michael Maguire back then, as long as he was let go - but again, in Hasler's case, this is a coach who is so beloved that the Trbojevic brothers wanted contract clauses allowing them to opt out should the coach be fired.
Not to mention that until the pride jersey saga, the team sat in the top eight, even without their superstar fullback.
Seibold represented everything that a prototypical 'modern coach' could be - he was analytical, well-spoken, and data driven. His sojourn at Harvard University was a piece of trivia that was often brought up.
Brisbane seeing these peripherals and falling for them was forgivable, but you have to wonder why another club, after seeing what happened to the Broncos, is doing the same.
Perhaps it will be different - the only thing that's certain is that when you get rid of a coach as tenured and respected as Hasler, whatever you do next better work.
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