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<\/p>\nThe England legend believes a struggling NRL side could be on the phone to Willie Peters.<\/p>\n
James Graham believes Manly Sea Eagles could be on the phone to Willie Peters.<\/p>\n
Hull KR boss Willie Peters has been touted as an \u2018obvious replacement\u2019 for NRL strugglers Manly Sea Eagles.<\/p>\n
The Sea Eagles are winless two rounds into the new season in Australia, most recently slumping to a 36-16 defeat against Newcastle Knights. England legend James Graham believes the pressure is already mounting on the New South Wales outfit.<\/p>\n
The former NRL and St Helens prop claims Manly could be sounding out Peters as a potential successor to Anthony Seibold, with the club having also missed the play-offs last year.<\/p>\n
Reports in Australia suggest the Sea Eagles have already held an internal meeting to address their poor start, and Graham believes a coaching change could be on the horizon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was covering the game, and it\u2019s one of the poorest performances I\u2019ve witnessed as a commentator,\u201d Graham said on his podcast, The Bye Round<\/a>, discussing Manly\u2019s defeat to Newcastle Knights.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s by far and away the worst performance of the round and the immediate reaction to 0-2 is you can\u2019t take that game in isolation. We know Anthony Seibold and Manly as an organisation are under pressure coming into this season.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re naive if you don\u2019t think that Manly are picking up the phone to – more than likely – Willie Peters and sounding him out and gauging his interest in taking that job.\u201d<\/p>\n Co-host Luke Keary has labelled Peters as the \u2018obvious candidate\u2019 for Manly Sea Eagles.<\/p>\n Peters however is contracted at the Robins until the end of the 2028 Super League season, but has made no secret of his desire to coach in the NRL one day – throwing his name in the mix for the upcoming PNG Chiefs role for their inaugural NRL campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hull KR CEO Paul Lakin recently insisted that he is \u201ctotally relaxed\u201d about the coach\u2019s future amid NRL conversations<\/a>.<\/p>\n Former half-back Keary added: \u201cI agree with you, Willie Peters is the obvious candidate. PNG have already basically said they\u2019re going to have a look at him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot tell me that those execs and boards are not making calls behind the scenes.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think the trigger gets pulled too quickly but for a guy like Willie Peters who is coaching Hull KR<\/a> and having his name thrown around for the England job then if I\u2019m at a club, I want him in there now to start turning the culture.<\/p>\n \u201cManly know their coach is under pressure, and they\u2019re under pressure as an organisation. To toss that [performance] up, it\u2019s concerning – against a Newcastle side that are still building.”<\/p>\n