Anthony Seibold’s success with the Sea Eagles have earned him the backing of the club’s powerbrokers, with Manly’s head coach to be tabled an extension offer whether the team wins or loses against the Roosters this Saturday.
It’s a huge about-face after Seibold found himself in the crosshairs midway through the season; most concerns were on whether they’d make the eight. Whether the Brookvale bosses offer him one or two years has yet to be decided.
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Things have already somewhat progressed between Seibold’s agents and Sea Eagles management, The Sporting Base understands, after they held informal talks earlier this year. Those original talks were quickly put on hold, however, after Manly slowly began to slide down the NRL ladder before and through the State of Origin period.
At the time, Manly were languishing in 12th with the team struggling to string wins together. Then, Seibold rallied the team to win nine in 16, including a huge boilover against the Knights in July and a shock victory over the Bulldogs in the second last round.
Part of the reason the club’s interested in keeping Seibold through to 2025 or 2026 is the dearth of probable coaches around the game right now. Several interesting talents, including Jason Ryles (who just joined the Eels) and Shane Flanagan (who’s a year into his Dragons tenure), have recently been taken off the board. There’s also feelings internally, The Sporting Base heard, that Manly’s bosses think week two of finals is great considering the opposition field this year.
Before these talks, Manly are still to play the Roosters in a sudden-death final on Saturday.
