The Sea Eagles took the gamble to axe Anthony Seibold three games into the NRL season and name Kieran Foran as interim head coach.
While some believe the move needed to happen after losing three straight at home for the first time in 20 years, the Sea Eagles still face several questions about this season and beyond.
Foran has been named as the interim coach with the club to circle back to the head coaching position at the end of the season.
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Who are the coaching candidates?
Seibold took over from Des Hasler as Manly coach in 2023, taking the Sea Eagles to the second week of the finals the following year.
He had a 48 per cent win rate at Manly- recording 37 wins, 38 losses and two draws.
Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur, Brisbane assistant Matt Ballin, Dragons assistant Michael Ennis are viewed as leading candidates according to reports.
Arthur is currently in England, under contract with Leeds until the end of this season.
It’s understood Arthur is seen as a prime candidate having spent time as an assistant at Manly before taking the Eels job.
“Twelve months ago I would have said I was really desperate to get back but I feel like I’m a lot more settled now … I’m really comfortable,” Arthur said.
“At the moment yeah, I feel like I’ve got some unfinished business and I’d like to get that opportunity but when that opportunity comes I’ll be ready and I know I’ll be a better coach.”
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Arthur has 137 wins from 264 games in charge of Parramatta from 2012 to 2024, including the loss to the Panthers in the 2022 grand final.
Meantime, Ballin would need the blessing of Brisbane coach Michael Maguire, who has already indicated he would give his assistant the green light should he be selected.
“I haven’t even spoken to Matty, but I want all my staff to excel in whatever it is that they do and what they want to do. If those things arise, we’ll talk about that,” Maguire said.
“As an NRL coach, sometimes you’re not sure whether you are or you aren’t [ready]. One thing I know is Matty is a great human and a great person, and those things come to people who work hard.
“If it’s the right time, it’s the right time.”
Manly chairman Scott Penn said he’s aware of the club’s history of having former Manly players taking the top job and achieving success.
“We’ve played in 20 grand finals. Not all of those 20 grand finals were Manly people. But the eight premierships we’ve had have been.
“So clearly there’s history there. It’s not mandatory, but there’s certainly history. But I think we have a very proud history.
“We really, we know what our values are. We know that we expect success. And we really, we haven’t delivered that over the last 10 years, so we need to make sure we do that. Kieran’s appointment is definitely a path to that.”
Is the 2026 season over?
Seibold is the first coach to be sacked this early in a season since Jason Taylor at Wests TIgers in 2017.
Only one team has gone 0-3 and won the grand final and that was the Cowboys in 2015.
Making the top four from 0-3 is rare, with Manly (2021) and the Dragons (2005) the only others to do it, but several other teams have recovered from that start to make the playoffs.
Brisbane did it twice in 1999 and 2007, while the Sea Eagles (2009), Storm (2000), Sharks (2015) and Warriors (2011) have also finished strong after dismal starts.
That gives Manly chairman Scott Penn some confidence and also brought into focus Seibold’s lack of results.
“Our focus now, we have 21 games at the regular season still ahead of us. That’s one of the key reasons we made the decision as early as we have.
“We’re certainly not out of it yet. We’ve still got a long way to go. If we win more, than we lose for the rest of the season, we’ll certainly be in a fighting chance for the finals.
“So that’s our focus right now. And delighted that Kieran’s gonna take the helm and see what we can do.”
According North Queensland great Johnathan Thurston, the Sea Eagles should put a line through this year.
“I think it’s completely derailed their season three games in. They pulled the trigger so they clearly think that ‘Seibs’ isn’t going to get the best out of this playing group.
“They need to have a look at their roster, as well.”
Did DCE’s exit lead to this?
The Manly chairman admitted Cherry-Evans’ exit from the club was not handled properly and it did impact the team last year but denied it played any role in the 2026 season.
“It didn’t help us last year,” he said.
“It seems from the outside, it had such a big effect on this club. It was certainly very distracting. And I think everyone acknowledges that it could have been handled better.
“But once the decision was made, then everyone’s tried to get on with it. But there’s no question it was distracting throughout season.”
Money problems? Roster overhaul?
Seibold was said to be working under financial constraints at the club, with owners tightening their belts.
It’s claimed $1 million has been taken off budgets to pay for the medical retirements of Lachlan Croker, Josh Aloiai and Brad Parker.
The club has chosen to pay the players after their contracts were removed from the salary cap.
Penn was asked if he was part of the problem at Saturday’s press conference after going through five coaches and numerous CEOs in his time.
“You can point fingers but our focus has always been on the greater good of this club so as owners of the club, we demand success,” he said.
“If we don’t get success, we find someone else.”
He defended the current squad and said the ownership group never pressure coaches with selections. He also denied he wanted to sell.and declared the club’s junior system is in a good place to produce more NRL players in the coming years.
“We know that we have a fantastic squad here. We know that Kieran’s got an opportunity to do something special,” he said.
“That’s what we’re backing right now. We’ll go through an orderly process to look at who’s available in an orderly timeframe.
“There’s no secret that we have a league club that hasn’t been able to contribute to our junior pathways for almost 15 years now.
“So, we are at a disadvantage compared to other clubs. We invest about $2.5 to $3 million a year in our junior pathways.
“That as a private club, we have to fund. We don’t have an obligation, we have a license for an NRL team.
“We don’t have an obligation for junior pathways or the junior league, but we still, as a family, we believe in that, as an ownership group, we believe in that.
“And so, we still contribute. Now, the clubs still break even or better. So, we’re still gonna find a strong financial position.
“But the reality is that in the last 12 months, we had a number of medical retirements, you know, all told about a million dollars, which … that these things happen at times.
“So, you know, we have looked around the club to say, well, how do we just, around the edges, look at are there areas of opportunity to save some costs, to offset that?
“But we’ve certainly financially strong. We spend at the football cap, we spend at the salary cap. So, financially, there’s no issue, and no, we’re not looking to sell.
“It’s a golden generation of young talent, it’s back to up through.
“We feel like we have the right resources to do that. You know, we’ve got the best junior talent coming through that we’ve had, probably, really, since I was in.
“We now have a great nursery in our juniors, and they’re starting to come through. We’ve got probably four, five, or six, 18, 19 year olds that will play in NRL.”
Foran begins his NRL coaching career against the Dolphins in Redcliffe on Thursday.
