The what if question.

[manly al]

Still don 't know how Manase 's crook shoulder would have held up even if he was not convicted and could have continued his Manly career
Was looking quite chronic at the time and then his not inconsiderable contract value to take into account and a bit of a restriction then on general cap outlays
Got Froggy playing some worthwhile footy at 9 and no doubt on a modest deal but of course , Manase "s all round ability would have been preferable on the proviso that his shoulder problem would have been alleviated .
Again , still was no guarantee that would have been the case

 

[lsz]

10000% if Des had stayed we would have seen more success.I am not sure when that would have ended (my guess would have been when we lost the influence of the Stewart brother / Choc) but he showed in 2011 he was able to rebuild a team.

 

[Brocky]

Look. 100% I have no beef sayingvthe game has moved past him but im thinking more in the 2012 - 2020 frame. He still had some of it during his second coming at manly.
He certainly had it at the dogs until 2016ish. Just looking at the numbers.

A lot here agree he destroyed our window walking out in 2012 right after a premiership but that side was still good enough to win right up till 2014.

He had it going before the pride fiasco started

 

[NYEagle]

Agree. He named the centre of excellence after himself.

The Penn-itentiary?

NYEagle

 

[manlyfan76]

The Penn-itentiary?

NYEagle

Yes but we are the ones being punished

 

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

Ok. I started with Hasler. But How about this one.

Michael McGuire? I know he knocked us back(he did didnt he?)but what if we got the swearing Tassie devil instead of Seibold 3 years ago? Army camps and spew buckets could have been a good thing for the underperforming seaeagles.

 

[mave]

Ok. I started with Hasler. But How about this one.

Michael McGuire? I know he knocked us back(he did didnt he?)but what if we got the swearing Tassie devil instead of Seibold 3 years ago? Army camps and spew buckets could have been a good thing for the underperforming seaeagles.

Yes, yes he did.

Smart move by himself, with hindsight.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

Army camps and spew buckets could have been a good thing for the underperforming seaeagles.

Yep. If ever there was a playing group in the NRL that needed the softness whipped out of them, it's this one. From memory, Madge wasn't keen at the time and we ended up with Des 2.0. And now we're going into our fourth year with Supercoach (Who-Doesn't-Really-Want-to-Coach) Seibold.

But as a club we need to start looking forwards instead of backwards. Sure, 2026 is likely to be more of the same, but maybe we'll start to see a little light in the tunnel after that.

 

[HK_Eagle]

Yep. If ever there was a playing group in the NRL that needed the softness whipped out of them, it's this one. From memory, Madge wasn't keen at the time and we ended up with Des 2.0. And now we're going into our fourth year with Supercoach (Who-Doesn't-Really-Want-to-Coach) Seibold.

But as a club we need to start looking forwards instead of backwards. Sure, 2026 is likely to be more of the same, but maybe we'll start to see a little light in the tunnel after that.

Saab needs Madge on his vadge.

 

[Wombat64]

Agree. He named the centre of excellence after himself.

what a wanker ....

 

[Real Deal]

When I think of the Penn Centre of Excellence, all I can tnink of is Mr G. in Chris Lillie's Summer Heights High wanting the school to build a performing arts centre and name it after himself.

 

[LeonardCohen]

Yes, yes he did.

Smart move by himself, with hindsight.

Smart move? He went to Tigers and got fired. We won a lot more games than the Tigers during those years. It was a bizarre move.

 

[MadMarcus]

Smart move? He went to Tigers and got fired. We won a lot more games than the Tigers during those years. It was a bizarre move.

Hard to imagine he wouldn’t have got fired if he came to us…

 

[mave]

Smart move? He went to Tigers and got fired. We won a lot more games than the Tigers during those years. It was a bizarre move.

A bizarre move? Maybe.

Any choices Madge has made have ultimately led to success with the Kiwis, NSW, and now the Broncos.

So, with hindsight, yeah he made the smart move.

 

[The Eaglizer]

Ok. End of a pretty dismal season and another year closer to our first no title in a decade.

Looking at Bellyache today in the box and his longevity made me wonder what could have been had Des not gone to the dogs in 2012. Ok we all know he did and many on here will never forgive or forget but let's muse.

I know there is 2 sides to every story but had the powers that be just had have said **** it. Here are the keys to the castle, do as you wish. What happens?

More premiership success? No trent barrett? Do we win 2014? Does he manage the backended contract squeeze or does the place blow up big time? Would a few more premierships been worth it?

Let's say he stays on a long term deal and we get one or 2 more premierships and then some baren years? Would we accept that given where we are now?

Just thoughts.......

Can’t stand the circumstances around the way Desi departed (x2) but he has given us more good years than bad, both as player and coach. Yes I would have kept him beyond 2012 even knowing that a derailment was coming. I also think Toovs deserved more support than he got when he took over.

 

[LeonardCohen]

A bizarre move? Maybe.

Any choices Madge has made have ultimately led to success with the Kiwis, NSW, and now the Broncos.

So, with hindsight, yeah he made the smart move.

More coaches should take up positions at the likes of Newcastle, Titans and Tigers so they can get fired and be freed up for future premiership success somewhere else. They can’t just have the premiership success, they need Tales From Tiger Town as a prerequisite.

 

[mave]

More coaches should take up positions at the likes of Newcastle, Titans and Tigers so they can get fired and be freed up for future premiership success somewhere else. They can’t just have the premiership success, they need Tales From Tiger Town as a prerequisite.

We are talking with hindsight here, yeah?

If he doesn't get sacked from the Tigers, he doesn't get the Kiwi job.
If he doesn't get the Kiwi job, he may not have got the NSW job, etc, etc.

I would have rathered him over Seibs personally, but I don't think he would have had as much success with us as he has had by passing us over.

 

[Chunkytuna]

Ok. I started with Hasler. But How about this one.

Michael McGuire? I know he knocked us back(he did didnt he?)but what if we got the swearing Tassie devil instead of Seibold 3 years ago? Army camps and spew buckets could have been a good thing for the underperforming seaeagles.

I think a Madge-type coach is exactly what this club needs - IMO. Been saying it for years. Seminole was exactly the opposite of what we needed. We have the talent and the players - we need the attitude. I honestly think we could’ve had a premiership in the last few years with a different coach. Sadly I think that window is closed now.

 

[LeonardCohen]

We are talking with hindsight here, yeah?

If he doesn't get sacked from the Tigers, he doesn't get the Kiwi job.
If he doesn't get the Kiwi job, he may not have got the NSW job, etc, etc.

I would have rathered him over Seibs personally, but I don't think he would have had as much success with us as he has had by passing us over.

I don’t think he needed to fail at the Tigers to get the Kiwi job. I don’t see failure at the Tigers as necessary and ‘smart’ is all.