Will a change in leadership and intense reconditioning for Turbo’s hamstring see Manly in with a shot at premiership success? Rugby correspondent Adam Lucius finds out.
Anthony Seibold was looking on from a distance as Manly’s 2022 season disintegrated on the back of the rainbow jersey fiasco, player unrest and Des Hasler’s messy departure.
In England wrapping up his commitments with that nation’s Test rugby side, Seibs couldn’t avoid reading the daily headlines about a club supposedly in turmoil and eating its own.
Even if the stories were half-true, the 49-year-old was apparently about to inherit a Manly playing group split in two and a community outraged at the treatment of favourite son, Hasler.
Seibold could have been forgiven for running away from the fire, not towards it.
But after getting his feet under the table and separating fact from fiction, the former Dally M coach-of-the-year found the environment at Brookvale a whole lot different to what he’d been led to believe.
“Until you get into a group it really is hard to know what’s going on. I only saw the commentary from a distance (England), but we’ve worked really hard on building connections as a group since I’ve been here,” Seibold says.
New head coach Anthony Seibold has been working hard to build connections among the Sea Eagles team.
“I see a group that wants to get better; I see a group that enjoys each other’s company.
“The next challenge for us is to show the potential we have as a group and the only way we do that is by winning games and putting in good performances.”
Key to that will be superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic.
Along with the price of real estate, Turbo’s dodgy hamstrings are the most talked about subject on the Northern Beaches.
With Tommy in the side, the Sea Eagles look world beaters. Without him… Well, let’s not go there.
The good news is Trbojevic insists all is good in body and mind after working with renowned body reconditioning expert Bill Knowles in the US in late January.
“Everywhere you go people ask, ‘How’s the hammie?’ But over there, Bill is more worried about making you a better athlete,” Turbo explains.
“He says injuries come because there’s a chink in the armour and everything stopped working together, so let’s improve your athletic performance to work as a symphony.
“The body feels good and the vibe at the club is really good.
“We all love our footy here on the Northern Beaches and we’re really keen to get out there, especially at 4 Pines Park, and put on a performance for our fans.”
Former NSW coach and champion Canberra player, Laurie Daley, senses Turbo is about to deliver something special.
“I remember a season where I played more rep games than club games and I was heavily criticised, and you do take it to heart and you want to prove people wrong,” he says.
“I think you get more diligent in the way you prepare, and I think you come back stronger both physically and mentally. I think Tommy T this season will show everyone why Manly invested so heavily in him.
The Sea Eagles team is eager to move on from last year’s rainbow jersey fiasco and the sacking of former coach Des Hasler.
“I can see him having one of those years where he shows everyone who is he and proves a point to everyone that he’s the best in the game.
“I think fully fit, he’s arguably the best player in the game and he will come back a lot stronger for spending time over there in America.”
Manly has always been a club that thrives and prospers on drama, conflict, and an ‘us against them’ mentality.
It’s been that way since 1947 and the premierships keep coming – eight at last count.
But since winning their first title in 1972, the Sea Eagles have never had to wait more than 12 years for follow-up success.
Manly star Tom Trbojevic has been undergoing reconditioning training in the US for his troublesome hamstrings.
And they’ve always had an ex-Manly player in charge when they’ve lifted the trophy.
This year marks 12 seasons since the maroon and whites last won the competition and Seibold never wore the Manly colours as a player.
But he was at the club as an assistant coach under Trent Barrett and the Seibold family has spent the best part of a decade living on the Northern Beaches.
“Having lived in the community for a number of years, I know how much the club means and we want them to be proud of the team,” Seibold says.
“We’ve got some of the leading players in the game, elite guys like Jake and Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans, and emerging players like Josh Schuster and Haumole Olakau’atu.
“Physically we’ve invested a lot of time in closing the gap between what the demands of the NRL are and where we were.”
Seibold then pauses and reflects, aware the Sea Eagles will be judged on what they do, not what they say.
“The challenge is what we do on the park, not words,” he continues.
“If the Brookie Hill’s rocking and they’re singing Eagle Rock, it means we’re playing good footy.”
By Adam Lucius