Manly boss Jason King has fronted up and spoken at length about the coaching saga, admitting club greats Matt Ballin and Kieran Foran are in the mix for the role.
Just days after Anthony Seibold was sacked as head coach three games into a two-year contract, attention has turned to who will replace him.
Seibold’s axing will see Foran – who only retired from playing at the end of last year – step into the interim position with more than 20 games left in the season.
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The decision has certainly divided opinion and in a lengthy interview on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show, it was put to King by panellist Andrew Johns that the reason behind Foran’s appointment was to appease the Sea Eagles fans and old boys.
“No, I don’t think so,” the chief executive said.
“There’s a lot of different factors that go into appointing an interim coach. What we’re looking for at the moment is a response from the playing group and 2026 is still within our sights and we want to be qualifying for the finals.
“We thought Kieran was the best person for that job. He’s really well-respected across the game, he’s played 318 first grade games and 34 Tests for his country.
“We think that given where the squad is at and at this time of year, Kieran and his characteristics and background and the passion he has for the club and standards he holds for himself and teammates, he’s the right man for us.”
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King was then asked if the New Zealand legend would be in contention to take over beyond this season on a permanent basis.
“I certainly think that Kieran would be in the mix,” he said.
“What we want to do as a club is get in behind Kieran as best as we possibly can. He’s very early in his journey as an assistant coach and now interim head coach, so it’s important for the club to be doing all we can to support Kieran in many different ways.
“Hopefully the playing group responds to Kieran, we get some wins and have a really successful year and if that’s the case, I’d imagine the board will be considering Kieran.”
Andrew Johns grills Jason King on the Sunday Footy Show. Nine
The other key names in the mix include Brad Arthur, Michael Ennis, Jason Demetriou and the aforementioned Ballin, who is currently working at the Broncos.
Ballin won two premierships with the Sea Eagles as a player and has had support of many sections within the club and from the outside.
“Matt understands our club really well, he was a dual premiership-winning player and he’s coached at the club previously as well,” former teammate King said.
“Matt is building up a really good resume and no doubt, he will probably be in the mix when we start building a bit of a list.
“The club has always had success when it’s had a previous player or someone strongly associated with the club as head coach, so that will be a factor.”
Matt Ballin has worked at State of Origin and club level. QRL
Seibold’s departure has become the main talking point out of the Northern Beaches, but there are still other issues facing the club moving forward.
The first is the future of Jake Trbojevic, who suffered three concussions last season and is no longer the same player who dominated for NSW and Australia.
King said conversations between Trbojevic and Manly officials were ongoing.
“Jake’s got an option to continue playing next year, if he chooses to go around,” he said.
“The bottom line when it comes to discussions with Jake is to keep those lines of communication really open and as transparent as possible and really respectful.
“Jake has done a lot not only for our club, but for the game more broadly and we want to make sure that when the time is right – whenever that may be – that the transition is managed appropriately and carefully.
“Those discussions will continue and I will be deeply involved over the coming months.”
King was also forced to answer questions about deeper problems at the Sea Eagles within the pathway and junior reps system.
Brad Fittler said the club have been ‘extremely poor’ in Jersey Flegg, SG Ball and Harold Matthews in recent years, while also questioning the decision to end a relationship with Blacktown Workers, who acted as a feeder club at NSW Cup level.
“The pathways are a super important area,” King said.
“We want to make sure those pathways are robust and successful, but at the same time it’s a great opportunity for the community to be engaged with our club.
“It’s a really important part of our club and there’s been different initiatives over the years … but there has been a real shift to be back and embracing the local area.
Tom Trbojevic is a proud local junior. NRL Imagery
“We don’t have a massive junior base, but it’s big enough and it’s generated some really successful players in previous and current generations.
“I wasn’t there at the time and involved with the decision-making, but the involvement with Blacktown, while it was positive and did generate some good players, was seen as a little bit disengaging for the local community.
“Bringing that back in house and having that further aligned with the Sea Eagles and the local area was seen as super important.”
Manly have lost three games to start this season and Foran’s first game in charge will come against the Dolphins on Thursday night.