Sea Eagles skipper Tom Trbojevic says the playing group feels “responsible” for the club’s decision to sack Anthony Seibold, while new recruit Jamal Fogarty has had a crack at club officials by saying the coach should have had more than three games to turn things around.
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Seibold paid the price for Manly’s 0-3 start to the season, with the club sacking him on Friday night just a few games into what was effectively a new two-year deal.
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The writing was on the wall for the veteran coach given Manly had lost all three games at home, with fans chanting “Seibold out” during Thursday night’s loss to the Roosters.
Sacking a coach so early in the season gives the club enough time to turn things around, but Fogarty said it was too early to get rid of someone given it’s the players who make errors and miss tackles.
“That’s above my pay grade, but if I was the owner of an organisation, I’d like to see him have an opportunity to turn it around,” Fogarty said on Monday while Sea Eagles chief executive and club legend Jason King stood a few metres away.
“He’s not out there missing tackles or knocking the ball on and stuff like that, so us as a playing group, we know we have to be better because that’s just not the Manly standard.
“We’ve probably been underperforming, especially the Newcastle game. We were so far off what we know we have here as a squad, and as a player, you’ve got to own that.
“It’s disappointing that we let our coach down and now ultimately he’s not here anymore.”
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Like many of his teammates, Fogarty reached out to Seibold over the weekend to check on his welfare, with the halfback revealing his former coach played a key role in getting him to sign with the club.
“His phone would have been blowing up, but I got my wife to message his wife to see if he’d appreciate a message or if he wanted to be left alone. She said he would, so I sent him a message just to say thanks,” he said.
“He’s the one that gave me the contract to continue in the NRL at my age, so I’ve got to be grateful for that.
“It’s been a blast since I’ve moved here. I’ve been enjoying coming into training each and every day, and obviously he’s not here anymore, so I’ve got to give a bit of sympathy there to ‘Seibs’ as well because it’s pretty undeserving, I think.
“We had a great conversation when I did come up last year, and he was the reason why I joined the club.
“Unfortunately, three games haven’t gone our way and he’s had to wear that, so we can’t control that. It is disappointing from my end because he was the one that got me here, but life goes on.”
It’s been a turbulent start to the captaincy for Trbojevic, who is searching for his first win of the season and now has to start fresh with a new coach, albeit someone he knows very well in Kieran Foran.
Trbojevic sat next to Seibold at the press conference following the Roosters loss and was told the following day by King that his days as coach were over.
“We aren’t playing the footy we want to, and I feel for Seibs,” he said, with teammate Reuben Garrick declaring the decision a “line in the sand moment”.
“As a playing group, we feel partly responsible for where we are sitting and for that decision to be made, so I’m disappointed.
“I didn’t (see it coming) but you don’t really try and read into the outside noise. Obviously, there was noise there, but we just really wanted to focus on winning football games and making that noise go away. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it.
“We definitely feel responsible and accountable for where we sit and for the outcome happening with Seibs.
“(I called him over the weekend) and it was just an apology to a degree, letting him know that I’m sorry as a playing group that we couldn’t put in the performances that we wanted to for him, the club, and for everyone, and that this is the outcome.
“And a thank you for the past 3½ years and the work he’s put in, not only for myself but for the team.”
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The Sea Eagles are desperate for some stability on and off the field given they’ve churned through coaches and chief executives at an alarming rate, with everyone at the club hoping that Foran is the man to turn things around.
The club legend won a title with them in 2011 and has played alongside some of the current squad, with Foran only retiring from rugby league a few months after he helped New Zealand win the Pacific Championships.
He now faces a very different test after serving as Seibold’s assistant for just three matches before being thrust into the interim coaching role.
“I think he’s just going to coach the way that he played the 300-and-something games that he did. He’s going to give everything he can to being a coach and helping us be the best team we can be,” Trbojevic said.
“Every time he stepped on a footy field, he died for that jersey that he wore. It’s no different when he wore a Manly jersey, and it’ll be no different now as a coach. He’s the ultimate competitor, and he will lead us well.
“I think definitely his greatest attribute was his work ethic and his competitive nature and what he did to win football games.
“I’m sure he’s stepping into a bit of an unfamiliar role, but that’s just the person he is. He goes after everything, and I’m sure he’s going to do a great job for us.”
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