Bob Fulton always felt Anthony Seibold had a big future at Manly.
Long before Fulton convinced him to leave Melbourne and join the club’s coaching staff in 2016, “Bozo” tried to sign a teenaged Seibold to a Sea Eagles playing contract.
“Interestingly enough, I spoke with Bozo once when I was a kid,” Seibold recalled.
“He actually tried to sign me when I was 17. I played a Queensland under-17 versus NSW game, I was at a boarding school up at Central Queensland.
“Bozo called me at the school and tried to sign me, but I was under a scholarship at the time with the Broncos.
“It was interesting, the first time he called me since then was in 2015 and, believe it or not, he actually remembered trying to sign me as a kid the last time we spoke.
Anthony Seibold is looking forward to reigniting his NRL coaching career.Credit:Getty Images
“I remember it because, well, it was Bozo. He was the Aussie coach at the time. He was very good to me during my time there in 2016.
“Moving to Sydney, I was in a fantastic system and it was just about working with another group of players at the time.
“It was an opportunity to work with another playing group and to see how other groups did things is all part of the learning space.”
Manly’s decision to sack Des Hasler with a year remaining on his contract will leave him just five games short of Fulton’s record of 307 as the most capped coach in the club’s history. The league Immortal had told those close to him that he viewed Seibold as a head-coach-in-waiting when he first hired him as an assistant to Trent Barrett, and now the former Rabbitohs and Broncos mentor will get a chance to revive his career at Brookvale.
“Bozo never spoke about [those sentiments] to me, but I’m humbled if he said that,” Seibold said. “That’s very humbling, coming from Bozo.”
Much has been made about Seibold’s decision to add Shane Flanagan and Jim Dymock to his coaching team. The former Dally M coach of the year has also made another key appointment to his brains trust in the form of Andrew May, the former physical performance manager for both the NSW and Australian cricket teams.
May, who has worked with Parramatta over the past two seasons, will join the Sea Eagles as a mental skills coach. Another new face is Guy Williams, who is the new transition coach after a stint with Queensland Rugby League.
“Andrew May will help with some of that team dynamic stuff, the belonging and togetherness,” Seibold said. “Everyone at Parramatta speaks exceptionally highly of him.
“I’ve done my due diligence and wouldn’t have taken the role if I felt there were insurmountable challenges there.”
Anthony Seibold on the Manly coaching job
“I feel as though we have a world-class person in that position and Andrew will work as a consultant in that space.
“We’ve done a lot of homework to get the right people in the right positions. I had total autonomy in putting the coaching staff around me.
“Each of those three [assistant] coaches [Flanagan, Dymock and Steve Hales] are there for a specific reason and responsibilities. We’ve been really strategic in putting the staff together and I feel as though we have got a staff comparable to any other club in the NRL.
“I thought long and hard about who I put beside me and I’ve got the right people in the right positions.”
Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans.Credit:Getty
Seibold is also mindful of the contribution made by his predecessor. Hasler is a revered figure on the Northern Beaches after winning two premierships as a player and two more with the clipboard. Seibold said he would reach out to Hasler at the appropriate time.
“I definitely will, I have a lot of respect for Des,” Seibold said.
“Being in England, and with Des being on a break, I haven’t contacted him. But when the time is right, I will certainly reach out to Des. I will do that at some stage and that will be a private thing.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him and what he’s done at Manly and the Bulldogs as a coach and also three clubs as a player as well.”
Some view the Manly coaching job as a poisoned chalice. The club has been embroiled in a seemingly endless string of controversies, from the “Everyone in League” jersey fiasco to missing the finals and Hasler’s sacking. Seibold, however, sees plenty of upside.
“I wouldn’t have taken the job otherwise,” he said.
“NRL coaching and clubs are challenging, dynamic situations. I’ve done my due diligence and wouldn’t have taken the role if I felt there were insurmountable challenges there.
“I’m very optimistic, it’s a great opportunity and I’m really humbled. That’s the overriding theme from me.”
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