Manly Recruit Slams 'Harsh' Seibold Sacking as Players Shoulder Blame
Star recruit Jamal Fogarty has strongly criticised Manly Sea Eagles' decision to fire head coach Anthony Seibold, describing the move as harsh and premature. The veteran playmaker believes club powerbrokers should have given Seibold more time to salvage their struggling NRL campaign.
Players Admit Responsibility for Coaching Demise
Speaking in Manly's press conference room with chief executive Jason King observing, Fogarty expressed his disappointment that the coach who convinced him to move from Canberra had been axed only three games into the new season. The veteran halfback has made a solid start to his Sea Eagles career despite the team's winless opening month, but emphasized that the playing group must accept blame for Seibold's departure.
"It's pretty disappointing that we let our coach down and now ultimately he's not here anymore," Fogarty stated. "(It's) above my pay grade, but if I was the owner of an organisation, I'd like to see him have an opportunity to turn it around. He's not out there missing tackles or knocking the ball on and stuff like that."
Historical Precedent for Recovery
The Sea Eagles have demonstrated resilience from slow starts before, most notably in 2021 when they lost their first four games before surging into a preliminary final behind Tom Trbojevic's career-best form. Fogarty pointed to this history while questioning the timing of Seibold's dismissal.
"We still have 21 games to go to turn our season around. I thought to be sacked after three is pretty harsh," Fogarty continued. "He was the reason that I joined the club. Unfortunately three games haven't gone our way and he's had to wear that. We can't control that. It is disappointing from my end because he was the one that got me here, but life goes on, doesn't it?"
Players Reach Out to Departing Coach
Fogarty revealed he reached out to check on Seibold, first contacting the 51-year-old's wife to determine whether his message would be appreciated. Meanwhile, captain Tom Trbojevic called Seibold to apologize after learning of the dismissal from CEO Jason King on Friday.
"(It was) an apology to a degree, letting him know that I'm sorry," Trbojevic explained. "As a playing group, we're sorry that we couldn't put in performances that we wanted to for him, for the club, for everyone, and this is the outcome. We definitely feel responsible and accountable for where we sit and the outcome happening with Seibs."
Seibold had effectively been three games into a two-year contract extension, having signed for the 2026 and 2027 seasons after Manly reached finals in 2024.
New Interim Era Begins
Club legend Kieran Foran presided over his first training session as interim coach on Sunday, having been promoted from his assistant role under Seibold. The 35-year-old only began his coaching career in November after playing his final professional game with the New Zealand national team earlier that month.
Manly's most recent premiership-winning five-eighth has already impressed his charges, with centre Reuben Garrick noting: "He's an ultimate competitor. If you can't get behind him, then I don't know who you can."
The Sea Eagles will aim to turn over a new leaf starting with Thursday night's round-five clash against the Dolphins, their first away trip of the season. "It's got to be a line-in-the-sand moment," Garrick said of the tumultuous opening month. "We lost three in a row at home. If there's ever a kick up the arse, that's as big as it can get here at Manly."
