At their season launch at Manly Wharf in February, the Sea Eagles leaned into their proud history.
Premiership-winning captains Max Krilich, Geoff Toovey, Paul “Fatty” Vautin and Matt Orford took the stage for a Q and A, and there was a display of jerseys from the club’s glory days in the 1970s to their premiership strips of 1987, 1996, 2008 and 2011.
Manly chairman Scott Penn (centre) with present and past coaches Kieran Foran and Anthony Seibold. Artwork: Michael Howard When the “class of 2026” was introduced one by one, there was also a nod to days gone by, with digital lanyards on the big screen showing how many seasons each of them had played for Manly.
This is the Sea Eagles’ 80th year in the competition and as they sipped on champagne and cans of beer from Brookvale Oval naming rights sponsor 4 Pines, the assembled Manly faithful might have just believed the anniversary would be marked with something special.
Instead, the club and its leadership have found themselves under examination following a dismal start to the season and the abrupt axing of head coach Anthony Seibold.
They finally got off the mark on Thursday night, thrashing a diabolical Dolphins 52-18 in Brisbane in coach Kieran Foran’s first game in charge.
Manly players celebrate a try in their big win over the Dolphins in Brisbane on Thursday night. Getty Images But the early season struggles, when they lost their first three games, have brought into focus the bigger picture at Manly.
The Sea Eagles have made the finals only four times in the past decade, and progressed past week two just once, cycling through a handful of coaches and even more chief executives along the way.
Decision-making has also been br
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