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Sacked Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold knew he was in trouble at Manly from the moment Jason King took over as chief executive in December.<\/p>\n
It has been suggested to me that at least $750,000 has now been cut from the football budget in the form of a coach and analyst is an indication of a broader issue at the club, where penny-pinching is a genuine problem.<\/p>\n
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Sacked Manly coach Anthony Seibold.Sam Mooy<\/p>\n
Seibold was sacked on Friday night<\/a> following Manly\u2019s 33-16 loss to the Roosters at Brookvale<\/a>. It was their third straight defeat at home this season. Premiership-winning five-eighth Kieran Foran was on Saturday announced as the interim head coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n Seibold\u2019s immediate predicament was rammed home to him on Friday when people who should know started telling him another Sea Eagles premiership-winner and Broncos assistant coach Matt Ballin was going to take his job. Ballin\u2019s appointment has not been confirmed, but those who know Seibold well have told this column that\u2019s when he knew it would be a matter of hours, not days or weeks, until he was looking for a new gig.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s cut to the chase. Seibold was seen as an appointment by his mate and former Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov. King has no emotional connection to Seibold and no reason to be loyal to him. When Mestrov went, Seibold should have been moved on. But Manly have been poorly run for years, and instead they were dealing with a coach who was not really wanted.<\/p>\n Take it as fact: Seibold knew that and sensed the lack of support. Unfortunately, it extended to some sections of the playing group. The point of no return was the botched contract dealings with Daly Cherry-Evans. There was no way Mestrov \u2013 Seibold\u2019s bodyguard \u2013 was going to survive that, and ultimately, it meant Seibold\u2019s life span as Sea Eagles coach was always going to be limited.<\/p>\n Fox, Broncos crisis summit over Tallis<\/p>\n Fox Sports and the Brisbane Broncos have held crisis talks because of relentless attacks on coach Michael Maguire by the network, led by club legend and now Titans part-owner Gorden Tallis.<\/p>\n Once close allies as News Corp bedfellows, Fox and the Broncos couldn\u2019t be further apart now, despite the media giant maintaining its majority share of the club.<\/p>\n Tallis\u2019 disdain for Maguire is obvious and well-documented. Even before the latest drama to engulf the club \u2013 when assistant coach Ben Te\u2019o resigned during the week <\/a>\u2013 talks were held between Fox Sports managing director Steve Crawley and Broncos crisis manager Grant Williams.<\/p>\n The Broncos can do nothing right, according to Fox, which is backing Tallis all the way. The \u201cRaging Bull\u201d would prefer the narrative to switch to another club, as he has been copping it on social media, but the Broncos drama rates.<\/p>\n Crawley and Williams are old media hardheads and both worked at the Nine Network as heavies in their own divisions.<\/p>\n Williams was the only person at the Broncos organisation to sit in the Gorden Tallis meeting room at Brisbane headquarters \u2013 no one else wanted to go in there because of Tallis\u2019 stance. The room has since been renamed after Broncos and Jillaroos legend Ali Brigginshaw.<\/p>\n Not only is Williams juggling ongoing dramas at the Broncos, he is also conducting a major review and providing oversight of all media operations of the Queensland Police Service.<\/p>\n He is driving between Broncos HQ at Red Hill and Roma St police headquarters multiple times a week.<\/p>\n Tracey poised to ink Dogs deal<\/p>\n The Bulldogs expect fullback Connor Tracey will agree to a new two-year contract in the next 48 hours.<\/p>\n The club wanted to wait until after the Las Vegas season opener to make their offer to Tracey and did so when club general manager of football Phil Gould took Tracey for a Chinese meal at Canterbury Leagues during the week.<\/p>\n Gould told Tracey to put it to one side until after Saturday\u2019s clash with Newcastle<\/a>. Tracey has played his best football at the Bulldogs where he has settled in at fullback after arriving as one of many utility players signed two years ago. It would be a surprise if he didn\u2019t put pen to paper by Sunday night.<\/p>\n Some out-of-the-loop media figures have been critical of the approach Michael Chammas took towards trying to poach Panthers coach Ivan Cleary for the inaugural gig at the Papua New Guinea Chiefs from 2028. They said Chammas was running off at the mouth about it, inferring he was unprofessional. The truth is he spoke to Panthers boss Matt Cameron and let him know he wanted to ask Ivan about his interest in PNG.<\/p>\n After he made Cameron aware, he approached the four-time premiership-winning coach, who ultimately rejected the overtures. Willie Peters was appointed Chiefs coach on Friday.<\/a><\/p>\n We told you weeks ago that the Hull Kingston Rovers coach was the man for the Chiefs, but there is one person who will need some placating.<\/p>\n PNG Prime Minister James Marape was pushing hard for Adrian Lam to get the head coaching job, but ARLC supremo Peter V\u2019landys backed Peters. Lam may end up being part of the set-up if he can handle working with Peters. Not only is Peters the right coach for the job, he is the right man.<\/p>\n Bulldogs halfback Lachlan Galvin continues to make huge strides on and off the field.<\/p>\n This is a note sent to the Bulldogs general manager of football, Phil Gould.<\/p>\n \u201cMy name is Nathan Chandra, and I\u2019m a PDHPE teacher at Cabramatta High School. I just wanted to share a really positive experience we recently had with Lachlan Galvin.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite playing in Canberra on Thursday night, Lachlan still made the effort to come out to our school on his recovery day to speak with our rugby teams. He was incredibly generous with his time, shared valuable knowledge, and made a genuine effort to connect with the students, answering questions and taking photos with everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cWith so much media attention around players, I thought it was important to highlight this side of the game and the positive impact players can have in the community. It certainly didn\u2019t go unnoticed by our staff or students.\u201d<\/p>\n For argument\u2019s sake<\/p>\n Queensland Origin coach Billy Slater hasn\u2019t forgotten the \u201cglass houses\u201d comments Michael Maguire schooled him with<\/a> during the Blues\u2019 series win in 2024.<\/p>\n Slater has been openly critical of Maguire as Broncos coach. It\u2019s hard to know if his pursuit of Ben Te\u2019o for a spot on the Maroons staff actually played a part in Te\u2019o\u2019s decision to leave the Broncos.<\/a><\/p>\n Slater mentioned it at Christmas and was told by Broncos chief executive Dave Donaghy that it was a no-go as the club had flopped when Matt Ballin and John Cartwright left for Origin in 2024. Ballin is already an Origin assistant this year.<\/p>\n Te\u2019o has also talked openly about having had tough conversations with Broncos players including superstar fullback Reece Walsh, as he tried to inspire him to reach new heights.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cWe have a lot of heated conversations \u2026 arguments, me and Reece,\u201d Teo said on the Inside Ball podcast. \u201cBut it is my job.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s why the narrative of a heated chat with Maguire being the reason for his exit is hard to swallow. There appears to be more to this.<\/p>\n Juniors splash the cash for Johnston jersey<\/p>\n The Alex Johnston tribute dinner for becoming the premiership\u2019s leading tryscorer was a beauty and the jumper he wore to do so was a big money spinner.<\/p>\n Souths Juniors bought the jumper that he wore when he scored the double against the Roosters to break Ken Irvine\u2019s 212-try record for $35,000.<\/p>\n It\u2019s taken a bit of time, but the Roosters can now joke about the e-bike injury to Billy Smith.<\/a> The players have even made sure people look out for the star centre by giving him some L-plates for his bike. Smith is still looking for the player who put the plates on his bike. We asked him if he knew who was behind it, but he was none the wiser. It was clear he was OK with the gag. It could have been coach Trent Robinson, as he has had a couple of light-hearted cracks at Smith in media conferences.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Gorden](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2515ee85232ab8f114a1db0ea539039383f79f6d.jpeg\")
Gorden Tallis, Michael Maguire and Ben Te\u2019o.Aresna Villaneuva\/Getty<\/p>\n![\"Connor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0b4c969227a794c710d6705f596bc87dc51256b5.jpeg\")
Connor Tracey in action against Newcastle on Saturday.NRL PhotosChammas\u2019 Cleary approach by the book<\/p>\n![\"Ivan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/a3d0f63673798ab1129059577e662da2bc06cf40.jpeg\")
Ivan Cleary wasn\u2019t interested in the PNG Chiefs job.Getty ImagesTeacher fires off note to Gus about Galvin<\/p>\n![\"Lachlan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ee1cf6e6e5f83b4dc21f2c2878ac0a1ad36a291b.jpeg\")
Lachlan Galvin not only won this match but plenty of admirers during a school visit the next day.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Kristian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/207dd4d4483eca2818bbd5f488d405da359580d3aeba0b739e6101392647c0fc.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774727953_134_fb07ca7bd56bba32fd3263bf479e4b5f8245945d.jpeg\")
Alex Johnston (right).Getty ImagesRoosters see funny side of Smith spill![\"Learner:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/468e3090df7572de99de85185ed1e979461c5327.jpeg\")
Learner: The Roosters can now joke about the e-bike injury to Billy Smith.<\/p>\n