Seibold adamant next fortnight won’t define him
Scott Bailey |
Anthony Seibold has defended his record as Manly coach, claiming any suggestion the Sea Eagles’ clash with Wests Tigers could be job-defining is “agenda-driven” and “nonsensical”.
In a lengthy press conference on Thursday, Seibold declared Daly Cherry-Evans would remain captain for the rest of 2025, and confirmed Tom Trbojevic’s centre move was a short-term one.
But the Manly coach also saved a lengthy defence for himself, with his job in the spotlight after shock losses to Newcastle and Gold Coast left the Sea Eagles 10th on the NRL ladder.
Manly CEO Tony Mestrov raised eyebrows last week when he said Seibold was “safe at this point”, before stating on Monday those were “just words” and that the coach was definitely safe.
“If it’s been said (this is a huge game), that’s agenda-driven,” Seibold said on Thursday.
“If you look at the facts, I came in at the end of 2022. The club had lost seven or eight games in a row.
“There was a lot of commentary around the pride jersey. We won more games in 2023 than we did in 2022. We won more games in 2024 than we did in 2023.
“This year, we’ve played some exceptional footy. But we’ve also played poorly at times. The gap between our best and our worst has been too wide for my liking.”
Seibold did confirm there had been a discussion around a succession plan as coach at the end of 2027, in order to stop the roster from being blown up again.
It has emerged in the past fortnight that Manly had discussed former NSW hooker Michael Ennis eventually taking over.
“(That’s) in regards to putting the future of the club first,” Seibold said.
“It came off a one-off conversation, or two conversations around that. And then it got leaked to the media last week for whatever reason.
“But again, that says more around some other people’s interests than mine.”
Regardless, Seibold insisted the pressure on him was not real pressure compared to “what’s going on in Israel or Ukraine”.
But the former South Sydney and Brisbane coach insisted he was also confident in the direction Manly were headed.
“If you look at the bigger picture and what we’ve done over the last two and a half years, we’ve got packed houses here every single week,” Seibold said.
“We’ve developed a footy team that can beat any team in the competition on our day. We’ve just got to close the gap consistently.
“That’s part of my role and the players’ role.
“To suggest you’re a good coach if you win this week or you’re a poor coach if you don’t is in many ways nonsensical.
“I’ve got good perspective on what’s important. I know what we need to do.
“We’ve got plans in place for now. I think it’s quite laughable.
“But it’s also I know that there’s an agenda somewhere in the background. It says more about those people than myself.”
Seibold also rejected any suggestion that Cherry-Evans’ contract saga had been a distraction after he announced his looming end-of-season exit in March.
The Manly coach said he had never considered changing the captaincy, pointing to Adam Reynolds taking Souths to the 2021 grand final as proof it could work.
Cherry-Evans spoke to the team at a regular “campfire” talk last week, with Seibold insisting he did well to address the issue.
Seibold also revealed Trbojevic trained through the bye after being told he was moving to centre, and said 2024 was proof a short stint there could work with Lehi Hopoate wearing No.1.
“We put him to centre last year and he got a bit of confidence,” Seibold said.
“Then he got his game back on and he played outstanding at the back end of the year and made the Kangaroos side.
“It’s about allowing ‘Turbo’ to go and play with a bit of freedom and flow.”
AAP
