madmax
Bencher
From David Lord (The Roar)
With the baggy greens a shambles, the Wallabies winning just three of nine internationals this campaign and both Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic just a couple of matches away from another unwanted headline, Des Hasler, Ben Barba and Quade Cooper have changed the sporting horizon for the better.
Hasler returned to Manly where he should have never left. Barba has come back close to the grassroots with the Cowboys. Cooper has had his Super Rugby career reborn with the Rebels.
Hasler will lift Manly from the Trent Barrett doldrums to again be a force in the NRL, of that there’s no doubt.
He’s not only a damn good coach as his career stats prove with 14 seasons at Manly and the Dogs producing 12 finals series appearances, five grand finals, and two premierships, but he totally understands what makes Manly tick – the culture.
Without that, no coach can succeed at Brookvale as Barrett found out.
Hasler can be a prickly hombre, and he’s never suffered fools, but there’s no more genuine coach in the NRL.
Sure he left both Manly and the Dogs under a cloud, but when the problems have been investigated, Hasler wasn’t at fault and mahogany row were the culprits.
On a more positive note, pre-season training kicks off on November 5, and by then Hasler will be right on top of it.
Daly Cherry-Evans is the only Manly player left from Hasler’s last premiership success, and it will be interesting to see if he retains the captaincy, or Hasler opts for Jake Trbojevic.
If it’s the latter don’t be surprised if he skippers NSW Origin, and Australia as well, so it will be a big call.
But the biggest call of all will be a Manly grand final, and a premiership.
That will give the vast army of Manly-haters the ultimate uppercut.
Finally a journo who has the nous to think before writing an article about Manly. Let's hope the positives heavily outweigh the negatives in 2019 & beyond.
With the baggy greens a shambles, the Wallabies winning just three of nine internationals this campaign and both Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic just a couple of matches away from another unwanted headline, Des Hasler, Ben Barba and Quade Cooper have changed the sporting horizon for the better.
Hasler returned to Manly where he should have never left. Barba has come back close to the grassroots with the Cowboys. Cooper has had his Super Rugby career reborn with the Rebels.
Hasler will lift Manly from the Trent Barrett doldrums to again be a force in the NRL, of that there’s no doubt.
He’s not only a damn good coach as his career stats prove with 14 seasons at Manly and the Dogs producing 12 finals series appearances, five grand finals, and two premierships, but he totally understands what makes Manly tick – the culture.
Without that, no coach can succeed at Brookvale as Barrett found out.
Hasler can be a prickly hombre, and he’s never suffered fools, but there’s no more genuine coach in the NRL.
Sure he left both Manly and the Dogs under a cloud, but when the problems have been investigated, Hasler wasn’t at fault and mahogany row were the culprits.
On a more positive note, pre-season training kicks off on November 5, and by then Hasler will be right on top of it.
Daly Cherry-Evans is the only Manly player left from Hasler’s last premiership success, and it will be interesting to see if he retains the captaincy, or Hasler opts for Jake Trbojevic.
If it’s the latter don’t be surprised if he skippers NSW Origin, and Australia as well, so it will be a big call.
But the biggest call of all will be a Manly grand final, and a premiership.
That will give the vast army of Manly-haters the ultimate uppercut.
Finally a journo who has the nous to think before writing an article about Manly. Let's hope the positives heavily outweigh the negatives in 2019 & beyond.
