![\"Des](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/e628f8057286b1b5573bf07e25fd256e1a1d12f8.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n\u201cWith the other coaches who have surpassed 500 games or even young coaches on their journey, you learn the value of connections you make with people, the genuine ability to relate.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty years down the track, 500 games down the track, people from the time I started coaching in 1997 at a club level, when they come back and still are in your life, or your crossing over and come back and regale about past times, that\u2019s when you realise wow, the impact you have on peoples\u2019 lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent times, there have been more heartbreaks that highlights. Hasler has taken over a Titans franchise that remains a stranger to success, one operating with a roster of five fullbacks and two millionaire forwards in Tino Fa\u2019asuamaleaui and David Fifita, who have mustered just 45 games between them since the coach\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n
There is a year to run on Hasler\u2019s contract but, given the club currently sits in last spot, it\u2019s unclear how many games he will be able to add to his 500th. Until the club makes a definitive call, it\u2019s unclear if these words act as celebration or eulogy.<\/p>\n
Hasler won\u2019t buy into the speculation about his future, saying only: \u201cI\u2019m still enjoying it, I enjoy coaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you enjoy coaching, you keep doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Des Hasler and those famous golden locks.Credit: Kate Geraghty<\/p>\n
He does, however, understand his role in the great soap opera that is the NRL.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I started, a football journo reported on the game,\u201d Hasler offers. \u201cIt\u2019s more like Days of Our Lives and Home and Away these days. It\u2019s all about the melodrama.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hasler has provided his fair share. From the ruins of the Super League war and the Northern Eagles debacle, he rebuilt Manly into a powerhouse to be despised by rivals. Under his watch, the Sea Eagles won two premierships, a number that would be greater still if the salary cap rorts of the Melbourne Storm were uncovered prior to the 2007 decider.<\/p>\n
The 64-year-old also came close at Canterbury, falling at the final hurdle against South Sydney in 2014. All the while, Hasler did it his own inimitable way; the bouffant, the kooky sports science, the epic sprays like the one he produced after last weekend\u2019s loss to the Tigers.<\/p>\n
\u2018[The players] need to know that you\u2019re vulnerable. That you have that real care factor.\u2019<\/p>\n
Des Hasler<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at Wayne Bennett, who is different to Ricky Stuart, who is different to Craig Bellamy, who is different to Warren Ryan or Tim Sheens,\u201d Hasler offers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at all the coaches who have longevity, each one is entirely different.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you sat down with all those men in the same room, they would look back and say \u2018this is the direction I\u2019m going to go, this is the path and how I got there.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no clear map, if I can say that. There\u2019s no outline, no handbook. Not when you\u2019re dealing with people. Not when you are dealing with so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
From post-game spray to hugs for Hasler<\/p>\n
Days after footage emerged of Des Hasler giving his team an epic spray following their loss to the Tigers, the Titans coach was on the verge of tears after his team presented him with a framed timeline of his coaching career ahead of his 500th game on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Hasler was caught on camera in the locker rooms at Leichhardt Oval giving his team a rinsing after they lost in the finals 17 seconds of their match, courtesy of an Adam Doueihi field goal after they led 20-16 in the 77th minute.<\/p>\n
In the post-match press conference, Hasler said his team played dumb football.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really disappointing that in the second half we fumble, we bumble, we miss tackles, we throw balls over the sideline, we get carried over the sideline and we complete nine from 15 sets,\u201d Hasler said. \u201cI\u2019m really disappointed in that performance. It was really dumb.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the incident seemed to be in the past, with Hasler thanking and embracing his team following the presentation and ahead of their match against the Warriors on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I could just quickly respond,\u201d Hasler said of the gift. \u201cFirst off, you\u2019ve ambushed me, I wasn\u2019t expecting that, so thank you very much. The gesture that you being here, is a great moment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
– Billie Eder, with AAP<\/p>\n
What separates the great coaches is their ability to connect with their players. For all of his quirks, there is nothing the former school teacher won\u2019t do for one of his charges. It\u2019s why Kieran Foran has followed Hasler from club to club. Why Manase Fainu, sitting in a prison cell long after his NRL career imploded, continues to get phone calls from Hasler. Why the Titans, despite their lack of on-field success, haven\u2019t turned on their coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll coaches, if you ask them, the players are human,\u201d Hasler says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are real people, they experience every emotion that you do, that coaches and everyone does.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s knowing that you\u2019re being really genuine with them, there\u2019s always that honesty factor. But also these days particularly they need to know that you\u2019re vulnerable. That you have that real care factor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hasler enjoyed a playing career that was documented by the great Thomas Keneally. It\u2019s unclear how many chapters remain untold in his story with the clipboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow lucky am I? How lucky is that?\u201d Hasler says of being Keneally\u2019s subject.<\/p>\n
Loading<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s all part of it. You think it\u2019s all planned, but your life is unplanned, you never know what\u2019s around the corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a big part of rugby league. You always need to be two steps ahead. There you go. I\u2019ll finish with that.\u201d<\/p>\n