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A Manly fan holds up a Kieran Foran sign in the crowd at the Sea Eagles v Rabbitohs round 14 game.\u00a0Cameron Spencer<\/p>\n
The \u2018Fozball\u2019 phenomenon has transformed Sydney\u2019s northern beaches<\/a> to the point that the KFC <\/a>(a Sea Eagles sponsor) in Manly Vale got rid of Colonel Sanders on their signage and replaced him with a Foran visage. Brookvale Oval is no longer 4Pines Park, it\u2019s FozPines Park.<\/p>\n Few personalities have ever had such a transformational effect on an organisation, let alone an NRL<\/a> club.<\/p>\n The coach, who is just 35 and only seven months removed from his professional playing career, has become a phenomenon and he\u2019s getting results – taking the Sea Eagles on an 8-2 run since taking the reins as interim coach.<\/p>\n Rugby league\u2019s eighth Immortal Andrew Johns<\/a> is convinced the Sea Eagles under Foran are the real deal and can be legitimate premiership contenders if they take a fully fit squad into September.<\/p>\n He also believes \u2018Fozball\u2019 is a real thing, not just a marketing gimmick which plenty of businesses are cashing in on with \u2018Fozball\u2019 merchandise being sold up and down the beaches.<\/p>\n Asked by Nine\u2019s Danny Weidler to define \u2018Fozball\u2019 for Wide World of Sports\u2019 Immortal Behaviour<\/a>, Johns said the coach had simply freed the mind of his players.<\/p>\n No longer do they fear the consequences of making an error, he claims, believing their play was paralysed by a clouded mind under the coaching of Anthony Seibold<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFor mine, it is a mental thing. It\u2019s using the ball, they use the ball coming out of trouble, there\u2019s ball movement,\u201d Johns said. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat my perception of it is, there\u2019s no fear of making an error. <\/p>\n \u201cNow, in the back of your mind, if you think you\u2019re going to get roasted on Monday or Tuesday in a video session – look I don\u2019t know if Anthony Seibold did that – but sometimes they looked like they\u2019d tighten up if they made an error. <\/p>\n \u201cIt just seems to me that they\u2019re playing with a lot of freedom and no fear of making an error.\u201d<\/p>\n With those words Johns almost seems to be suggesting that Seibold is the anti-hero in this story of Manly\u2019s revival.<\/p>\n To many Sea Eagles fans, that\u2019s exactly what he is. It\u2019s not necessarily that he lost the players due to his demeanour in half-time talks or video sessions but he did seem to lose his impact – Haumole Olakau\u2019atu\u2019s numbers before and after Seibold this season are a prime example. It\u2019s night and day.<\/p>\n There are theories out there that Seibold was too scientific. He clouded the minds of players by overcomplicating game plans and the expectations he had on individuals.<\/p>\n Anthony Seibold embraces Daly Cherry-Evans after the halfback’s last game for Manly.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n Speak to the players now and they say that Foran has simplified things. That is perhaps what Johns is getting at when he says \u2018Fozball\u2019 is \u201ca mental thing\u201d. The weight on the players\u2019 minds has been lifted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019d be hard for Anthony Seibold, for sure,\u201d Johns admitted. <\/p>\n \u201cEspecially watching them the way they\u2019ve performed. What have they won – seven of their last nine? (at the time Immortal Behaviour was filmed, before Thursday night\u2019s win over the Rabbitohs) – and obviously them coming out talking about how happy they are. <\/p>\n \u201cI feel for him, but you know, he was there for a while, it doesn\u2019t matter what relationship between players and coach, it can get stale.\u201d<\/p>\n Things are anything but stale on the northern beaches under Foran. The place is alive with energy<\/a>.<\/p>\n With almost half a season still to be played though, can they ride \u2018Fozball\u2019 energy all the way to an unlikely premiership.<\/p>\n Johns won\u2019t write them off.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve gotta be in the top four to win it. No one\u2019s won it from outside the top four (in the current finals system),\u201d Johns said. <\/p>\n \u201cPenrith and the Warriors you can lock in, they\u2019re top four. <\/p>\n \u201cManly for me are a team that can get into the top four, they have to be fully fit, they have to have Tom Trbojevic<\/a> back on board, playing fullback. <\/p>\n \u201cIf they have their best 17 come September and they finish in the top four, absolutely they can win the comp.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/e4be192549dc6dc598087a1968a5eadc8dd02dc3.jpeg\")
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