'Trying to get a headline': Anthony Seibold fires back at journalist as Manly's finals hopes hang in the balance

Anthony Seibold has taken a swipe at a journalist after he was asked if he still has the support of his locker room amid Manly's troubling form.

The future of Seibold at the club has been placed under a dark cloud at various stages this season, with the departure of skipper Daly Cherry-Evans at the end of the season and inconsistent on-field performances placing pressure on the coach.

Seibold's men are still a chance of making the finals series but will need to be almost faultless for the rest of the regular season, including this weekend against Canberra.

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However, given the exit of Cherry-Evans and rumblings over whether Seibold had the full support of the playing group, the question was put to him on Thursday and the under-fire coach was quick to fire back

"You're trying to get a headline there," Seibold replied.

"It is a pretty average question. What do you want me to say?"

The journalist then responded, asking if Seibold felt he is being supported by the club.

His response was simple: "Definitely."

"We lost a pretty tough game against the Roosters so I feel like I am well supported.

"I feel like I support the players well ... but I'm not really going to answer that because you're trying to get a headline."

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Seibold moved to explain changes to his starting line ahead of the club's clash against the Raiders on Friday, specifically the positioning of Tom Trbojevic.

The club's marquee man has been shifted to the No.1 jumper with young gun Lehi Hopoate sidelined due to an AC joint injury.

Seibold is full of confidence in Trbojevic getting the job done in his preferred role.

"It's always been a week-to-week decision," he said.

"For 'Hoppa' to be at his best, he needs to be able to do contact at training and train fully, but unfortunately he hasn't been able to do that over the past couple of weeks.

"We made a medical decision around that, and hopefully he'll be all right (next week) because we have a longer turnaround.

"Every decision I make is what I think is best for the team for that particular week. I think 'Turbo' going back to fullback this week is the best thing for our team.

"Turbo filled in when Lehi was off against the Roosters and did a good job there, and he's world class. We've spoken about this being Turbo's best position, but we've also made a decision on what's best for the team over the last couple of weeks.

"Lehi needed some time out and we've got a pretty good fullback coming in."