With the Manly faithful still reeling from the sacking of Des Hasler, another divide at the club is emerging – and it doesn’t relate to the rainbow jersey which destroyed the club’s season.
Some of the Sea Eagles’ highest-profile players privately fear the club has lost its “Manly DNA”. They whisper that Brookvale Oval has become Blacktown by the sea. And in part, it may explain the recent dramatic sacking of Kristie Fulton. The Blacktown reference relates to the tie-up with Blacktown Workers and the seemingly successful feeder club system set up by Bob Fulton to snap up the best in the west.
It’s something the players discuss in private when they don’t have to put their names to the issue, as they know the last thing the club needs is another reason to be divided on top of the pride jersey fiasco. But there is a growing concern about the impact some of the players from the western suburbs are having on the culture of the Manly club and local rugby league.
Parents have relayed stories of young local players being humiliated by players from outside the area, as the former easybeats of the junior representative competitions suddenly began mixing it with the big boys.
The Fulton system astutely targeted schools in the west of Sydney, even to the extent of providing a bus to transport players to training. No mountain was too high or problem too big for Fulton and his pathways team.
Premierships were delivered in Harold Matthews and Holden Cup. Fulton wanted Manly’s best juniors to have the chance to play with good players from outside the district.
(From left) Late Sea Eagles legend Bob Fulton, CEO Tony Mestrov and chair Scott Penn.Credit:NRL Photos, Getty
The importing was less targeted at western Sydney in the beginning. The way Fulton saw things was reflected in a team from years ago when Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Norths Rugby), Kieran Foran (Asquith) and Daly Cherry-Evans (Redcliffe) were part of a very good under-20s side along with the best of the home-grown products.
Tom and Jake Trbojevic came through the same system. Some say the local heroes were allowed to realise their potential because of the quality of their teammates.
Up until recently, the pathways program was supervised by Fulton’s daughter Kristie. She was congratulated on the success of the program by owners and directors in the past 12 months. Yet she was told the club was moving in a different direction when she was shown the door recently.
In an effort to regain its “Manly DNA”, it seems the club is going back to relying heavily on its small junior league nursery to produce stars of the future.
No official announcement has been forthcoming on the direction the club is taking, but David O’Donnell – a former Sea Eagles hooker and teammate of the new CEO Tony Mestrov – has begun in a pathways role. O’Donnell, who will be in charge of the program, has stood down from his role at the Manly Leagues Club, where he was a member of the board of the district football club and an alternative director of the Sea Eagles.
Those who know the juniors scene on the peninsula say the move has the potential to shake things up. Privately, Manly know their junior system will continue to require outside help.
Des’ man safe
Anthony Seibold will start with the Sea Eagles when he finishes up his commitments in English rugby – and he has told football manager John Bonasera he still has a job with the club. You may remember we published an email from Bonasera in which he apologised to Des Hasler for failing to communicate the club’s intention to wear the pride jersey to the coach and admitted that an error was bound to happen because he had so much on his plate without a CEO at the club.
It seems that he will be one of the few to survive getting mashed in the Hasler cleanout.
Young defence
The lawyer for Brett Finch has dismissed the outrage directed at Craig Young as “woke” and questioned the significance of the now former board member using an official letterhead to write a character reference for the disgraced former Origin player.
Young was Dragons chairman when he supplied a reference for Finch during his court case. He has since quit the board after heavy criticism of his actions.
Paul McGirr, who acts for Finch, was strong in his support.
“Craig Young was a mate when he needed to be a mate,” McGirr said. “Should he have used the Dragons insignia on his letterhead? Probably not. However, let’s not lose sight of the fact that he appeared in a personal capacity as a friend of the family, not in his St George Illawarra capacity.
“He put this on the record at court. Letter or no letter, Craig Young is the Dragons. Everybody identifies him as one of the legends of the St George Illawarra club. Craig has given service to that club for near on 50 years and he has stepped down in the interests of that club he loves so much.”
McGirr said Young could handle the heat. “Is it fair? Craig is not a man to sit around whinging about what’s fair or not. He made a mistake and wears the consequences.”
The race that stops negotiations: Abdo suffers
Andrew Abdo’s “catwalk” photos at this week’s Melbourne Cup event in Sydney ignited the revolt against him by club bosses, who are furious that they still don’t know the salary cap for next season.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo.Credit:SMH
Even worse, there are players who won’t know if they have a future in the NRL until the finances are sorted.
It is not entirely the NRL’s fault. The Players Association must take some blame for the delays. But one thing is certain: the clubs would have preferred to see the two parties spend Melbourne Cup Day at the negotiating table, not in a private box flowing with champagne. Abdo even appeared in the social pages the next morning with his arm around commissioner Kate Jones on the red carpet. The timing could not have been worse.
Now the clubs want to bypass Abdo and deal directly with Peter V’landys, who is in an awkward position. He has already boasted publicly that the NRL is flush with funds, so there is no reason for him to reject the push for a generous salary cap. But if he meets the clubs’ demands, it plays into the narrative that V’landys makes all the big decisions.
The NRL needs to sort this out before V’landys and Abdo head over to the World Cup in the UK this week. Expect the pair to get a frosty reception from players. And back home, club bosses are in no mood to watch the pair muscling in on the celebrations with the winning team.
NRL to make Knights disappear in Magic Round
With the draw still being finalised, as it stands Newcastle will miss out on Magic Round, the NRL’s biggest club celebration, next year.
With the Dolphins joining the competition, one side was going to have to make way for the newcomers, given the event is held in Brisbane. From what we have been told, it’s the Knights who will be punted.
The way it was explained to me is that the decision was based on fan engagement at the last Magic Round. According to data obtained by the NRL, the Knights flopped – which is quite amazing when you consider the way their fans have stuck by a mediocre team.
Knights boss Phil Gardner said: “We have heard rumours that we are the team to miss out next year. It’s not our major concern at the moment. We are bothered by the uncertainty around other things like the salary cap and what is going on with the women’s competition. There is a lot of uncertainty around that for all the players.”
The NRL would not confirm who was missing out on Magic Round. An NRL spokesperson said: “Each team is allocated three byes during the 27-round season. The team allocated a bye during Magic Round is a factor of the overall draw and bye distribution. It is likely the team allocated the bye in Magic Round will be rotated each season.”
Taking the Bate
Wests Tigers are well aware of supposed issues John Bateman has with Jackson Hastings. That they’d continue to pursue Bateman anyway is a sign that even though they have made changes, the organisation still has a long way to go.
Their courtship of the former Canberra second-rower smacks of desperation to land a “star” signing.
We’ve been told Batemans has had his run-ins not just with Hastings but with other players.
John Bateman left Canberra in 2020.Credit:Getty
He is a vocal character who is not afraid to let coaches know his opinion. Hastings is believed to have no ill will towards Bateman, but it seems Bateman has a problem with Hastings.
Hastings was one of the Tigers’ best players last season. His engagement with fans was without peer. He deserves the club’s respect.
Bateman was offered to the Knights and others some time back. After doing their homework on him, all decided to pass.
Luke the other way
Wests Tigers stuffed up the wall of fame in their centre of excellence, but they have taken a cautious approach to their membership drive. The joint venture launched the campaign with images of Adam Doueihi , Api Koroisau, David Nofoaluma and Jackson Hastings taking centre stage.
Conspicuously absent was Luke Brooks. He has been linked to Newcastle for 18 months – despite his denials about talking to them. If he does end up in a Knights jumper, the Tigers didn’t want egg on their faces a second time.
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