It was Des Hasler's unstinting loyalty to his players that built a bond so strong it delivered two premierships at Manly in four seasons.
But the former coach's obsession with keeping the core of his side together, back-ending deals to keep the salary cap at bay, is now starting to bite.
The Sea Eagles have a real fight on their hands to retain halves Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans along with try-scoring fullback Brett Stewart.
It's the deal with the brilliant Cherry-Evans that is causing most angst at Brookvale, with his manager Gavin Orr demanding a significantly upgraded deal after signing under Hasler for a modest fee to cover the 2012-13 seasons.
Cherry-Evans' request for a release for the 2013 season has been knocked back but something will have to give as the Sea Eagles attempt to balance the books in the post-Hasler era.
"We been lucky enough since '08 to keep the basis of a really good squad," veteran prop Brent Kite noted on Thursday.
"Dessie did a good job in the past keeping the squad together but he has left us with a few headaches."
"But it's catch-22. You get those players staying last year but they might not be here without a back-ended deal."
"It's the nature of the beast."
Asked if he bore any resentment towards Hasler for back-ending deals, Kite responded: "Not at all. One of his great strengths was recruitment."
"That might sound a bit funny (but) he got the right players, the right type of players and he held onto them."
"But it's a bit like the credit bubble I guess…it's got to burst eventually."
Manly coach Geoff Toovey, enjoying a perfect 2-0 start to his career, denied the Cherry-Evans saga was a distraction.
And he is confident the club can retain the majority of its stars.
"It's not concerning at all because I thought the wheels were in motion to sort out Daly's future and beyond the current contract. As far as I know it's proceeding," he said.
"It's news to me (that he wants a release). He's playing extremely good football and that's all he can do for himself and I think the people around him and at the club will sort out the rest."
"With any successful team players want to be remunerated fairly and that's what we want to do."
"We are (confident we can hold onto our stars), we're confident that the people in the office and behind the scenes are really working hard to make sure that everyone has a reasonable outcome."
"That's what we're working towards and I'm pretty confident we'll get there."
http://www.sportal.com.au/league-news-display/hasler-causing-headaches-166408
But the former coach's obsession with keeping the core of his side together, back-ending deals to keep the salary cap at bay, is now starting to bite.
The Sea Eagles have a real fight on their hands to retain halves Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans along with try-scoring fullback Brett Stewart.
It's the deal with the brilliant Cherry-Evans that is causing most angst at Brookvale, with his manager Gavin Orr demanding a significantly upgraded deal after signing under Hasler for a modest fee to cover the 2012-13 seasons.
Cherry-Evans' request for a release for the 2013 season has been knocked back but something will have to give as the Sea Eagles attempt to balance the books in the post-Hasler era.
"We been lucky enough since '08 to keep the basis of a really good squad," veteran prop Brent Kite noted on Thursday.
"Dessie did a good job in the past keeping the squad together but he has left us with a few headaches."
"But it's catch-22. You get those players staying last year but they might not be here without a back-ended deal."
"It's the nature of the beast."
Asked if he bore any resentment towards Hasler for back-ending deals, Kite responded: "Not at all. One of his great strengths was recruitment."
"That might sound a bit funny (but) he got the right players, the right type of players and he held onto them."
"But it's a bit like the credit bubble I guess…it's got to burst eventually."
Manly coach Geoff Toovey, enjoying a perfect 2-0 start to his career, denied the Cherry-Evans saga was a distraction.
And he is confident the club can retain the majority of its stars.
"It's not concerning at all because I thought the wheels were in motion to sort out Daly's future and beyond the current contract. As far as I know it's proceeding," he said.
"It's news to me (that he wants a release). He's playing extremely good football and that's all he can do for himself and I think the people around him and at the club will sort out the rest."
"With any successful team players want to be remunerated fairly and that's what we want to do."
"We are (confident we can hold onto our stars), we're confident that the people in the office and behind the scenes are really working hard to make sure that everyone has a reasonable outcome."
"That's what we're working towards and I'm pretty confident we'll get there."
http://www.sportal.com.au/league-news-display/hasler-causing-headaches-166408