Manly interim coach’s message to doubters
Jasper Bruce |
A lifetime and NRL career spent defying the odds has steeled Kieran Foran as he takes his first head-coaching job only four-and-a-half months after retiring.
Manly legend Foran answered a distress call from club powerbrokers Scott Penn and Jason King late on Friday night after they fired Anthony Seibold three games into the new season.
Foran had only joined the coaching staff last November, reporting to work the morning after his final professional game with the New Zealand national side.
But promoted to interim coach for round five and the remainder of the campaign, Foran is tasked with inspiring the Sea Eagles out of their winless start to 2026.
“I love this club, I won a premiership here, I’ve bled for the jersey in maroon and white,” he said on Saturday morning.
“If I can instil a bit of that belief and passion onto this playing group, then hopefully we can see some results.”
His glittering on-field career notwithstanding, Foran’s transition from playing to head coaching looms as one of the swiftest the premiership has seen.
The 35-year-old is younger than active NRL players Daly Cherry-Evans, Ben Hunt, Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds.
Foran was philosophical when asked whether he was ready to become a head coach.
“I don’t know if you’re ever ready for anything. You can prepare your whole life for something and still not be ready,” he said.
“I know there’ll be plenty of people out there that would say there’s no chance that I am ready to take control of this footy team, but at the end of the day, I believe in myself.
“I know what I stand for as a person, my values, my standards.”
Foran also believed he had a track record of defying the odds.
At 21 and 22, respectively, he and Cherry-Evans became the youngest premiership-winning halves combination in 30 years when they guided the Sea Eagles to their last premiership in 2011.
Foran attempted suicide in 2016 following battles with depression, gambling and alcohol addiction, but ultimately turned his life and career around to reach the coveted 300-game milestone.
“Nothing’s been straightforward in my life and my footy career,” Foran said.
“I’ve had to fight and scrap for every inch that I’ve got and I certainly haven’t walked away from challenges just because of the fear of what might be out there.
“I’ve always taken it head on and if I’ve failed, then I’ve failed so dear and greatly, and that’s where I sit here today … if the club believes that I’m the right man to step into that role as interim coach right now for this playing group, then I’m going to do it.”
Matt Ballin, Brad Arthur and Mick Ennis are considered contenders to coach the club full-time from 2027, but Foran remains in the mix too.
“We’ll go through an orderly process to look at who’s available in an orderly time frame. We’re not under any pressure,” Penn said.
“This is about the greater good of the club and who is the best. We’re hoping Kieran is that person.”
With 21 games to play in the regular season, Foran was adamant making the finals “for sure” remained a realistic goal for the Sea Eagles despite the off-field upheaval.
“(But) we’ve got to put together a complete performance for 80 minutes and we’ve got to work out why we’re not doing that and fix it quickly, because we need to turn the results around fast,” he said.
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