Embattled Manly coach Des Hasler is set to be given one more chance to save his NRL coaching career at the Sea Eagles as the veteran mentor calls for stability over change.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Hasler will not be sacked or be forced into personnel changes ahead if a crunch meeting with Manly powerbrokers on Thursday.
However, the Sea Eagles are unlikely to extend Hasler’s contract beyond 2023 when his deal expires at this stage, but are open to planning what the next five years looks like for the club.
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Manly are hoping a return to form under Hasler next season will answer the questions that a tumultuous 2022 campaign has put forward, but the coach wants stability at the club.
Hasler has reportedly considered quitting his post if stability is not guaranteed a head of next season and his management want another year added to his contract.
Hasler was set to earn a one-year extension if he finished sixth or higher in 2022, but the club finished a lowly 11th after being one game short of a grand final last year.
Manly are concerned that forcing changes on Hasler will have a negative impact on the club and its relationship with the head coach.
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The Sea Eagles want to work with Hasler and his management to create a high-performance environment to bring more success to the club long-term.
Privately Manly concede they can either sack Hasler or give him full control to turn things around in 2023.
The Bulldogs tried a different tact in 2016 and forced changes on Hasler only for the relationship between club and coach to gradually break down and Manly are trying to avoid history repeating itself.
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New Manly CEO Tony Mestrov is seeking to implement procedural changes to stop the infighting between the coaching staff and club powerbrokers over retention and recruitment.
Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans backed Hasler as the man to lead the club out of their current predicament.
“I’m almost certain through the conversations that I’ve had that the playing group likes Des and want him to be our coach,” Cherry-Evans told The Herald.
“It’s hard to determine where all this noise is coming from but from the chats I’ve had, Des is our guy. I’d be surprised if the club thought that he wasn’t the best man for the job.
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“I reckon history suggests that Des is a great coach. We love our coach and we know that we have the playing group to get out of it next year.
“I’ve been here for a long time. We just seem to be a club that brings unnecessary attention to ourselves. The senior players taught me when I was young coming through, now it’s my turn to teach the boys that we can’t get caught up in that side of the club.
“It’s just not for us to worry about, especially with the way we’ve played this year. Our priority needs to be fixing the football.”
