Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic has declared he is “very happy” despite a tumultuous few months at his club.
Trbojevic was sidelined from Round 11 after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury and had to watch his beloved Sea Eagles fall apart.
The team didn’t win a game after the infamous Pride jersey saga in Round 20 and as a result Des Hasler was sacked as head coach.
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“I’m very happy,” he said.
“A lot of things were being said in the media, etc. but I’m happy. I just want to play good footy for them.
“A lot of things were getting tossed out, but we just want to play good footy and win games. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that at the back end of last year, we need to turn that around.”
Hasler has been replaced by Anthony Seibold, who recently returned from England to begin his work at Narrabeen.
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Seibold is no new face to Manly — he was an assistant to Trent Barrett in 2016.
“I’ve worked under Seibs before and I’m looking forward to working with him closely again,” Trbojevic said.
“I’m looking forward to ripping in with him… I really enjoyed working under him. I look forward to doing it again a little more closely this time.”
Hasler’s sacking was a big blow for the Trbojevic’s, who are very close with him. In fact, they reportedly tried to include a get-out clause in their contracts when they re-signed in 2019 if Hasler departed, but the club rejected those requests.
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Trbojevic said he is “very thankful for everything Des has done” and that he “loved being coached by him” but acknowledged the club’s change.
“Obviously, they have gone in a different direction, and I’m looking forward to going in that direction and seeing where we go,” he said.
But the 26-year-old backed Hasler to pick up another head coaching gig if that’s something he wanted.
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“If he wants to coach again, then definitely,” Trbojevic said when asked if he hoped Hasler would coach on elsewhere.
“He’s such a good coach and any club would benefit from having him there.
“I’m not sure what he wants to do, that’s something he needs to work out for himself.
“I’m thankful for everything he has done for me and my family.”
