Hey Manly fans, remember when Geoff Toovey was sacked as head coach, and there was a lot of talk about changing the culture? The culture that took Manly to the finals ten years in a row? Remember how that worked out?

Well, here we are, six years later, and Manly are on the cusp of finishing the season in the top four for the first time since Toovey took the club to the 2013 Grand Final. Sure, Tom Trbojevic has been outstanding, and has a cast of great supporting characters. But let’s look at some of the coaching statistics that have underlined Manly’s success, or lack of it, over the last 60 years.

Ken Arthurson took over as head coach in 1957, and took the club to two Grand Finals, where they were soundly beaten by the great St George side of the era. Stepping aside at the end of 1961 to become the club’s, and the game’s greatest administrator, Arthurson had a winning record of just over 57%

Ron Willey was captain-coach in 1962, before Tony Paskins, and then Russ Pepperell took over. Paskins had a rate of just under 39% in his one year in the job, while Pepperell finished two seasons with a dismal record of just over 30%

It started to seem like you had to have some Manly DNA in your blood to make a go of the coaching position. Paskins came from Rugby Union, and Pepperell had his career in England. In 1965, former Manly lock George Hunter, who had played under Arthurson, took over as head coach, and took the Sea Eagles to the 1968 Grand Final. He stepped down the following year with a winning percentage of just under 65%.

Ron Willey returned to the role in 1970, and the club again made the Grand Final, only to lose to South Sydney. In 1972, the Willey coached Manly finally broke through for their first premiership win. They repeated the feat the next year with a brutal Grand Final win over Cronulla. Willey stood down at the end of 1974 with a winning record of a tick under 70%. A great coach, Willey later took Balmain, South Sydney, North Sydney and Penrith into the finals, and unearthed a young fellow at the Panthers named Brad Fittler.

Frank Stanton, another former Sea-Eagles player, took the reins as coach in 1975, and won premierships with Manly in 1976 and 1978. In his five years as coach, Stanton record a winning percentage of just under 63%. His successor, 1972 premiership winning forward Allan Thomson had just one year as coach for an even 50% record.

Ray Ritchie, a winger in those 1950s Grand Final teams took over in 1981, and the club made the Grand Final the following year, falling short against a red hot Parramatta team. In two seasons as coach, Ritchie had a 60% winning record.

The greatest Manly player of all, Bob Fulton, returned from Eastern Suburbs to be head coach in 1983. Fulton had coached Easts into the 1980 Grand Final, and secured the Roosters the minor premiership in 1981. In 1982, Easts came within a win of the Grand Final. Manly made the Grand Final in 1983, and the playoffs every year before Fulton stood down at the end of 1988. The Sea Eagles won their fifth premiership under the coaching of Fulton in 1987, and he would return to the club at a time of crisis.

The only anomaly on this list is former premiership winning and test five-eighth Alan Thompson, who coached the club in 1989. Thompson inherited a club that was riddled with in-fighting, which saw club legend and captain Paul Vautin forced to leave Brookvale at the end of the year. Manly had the worst season in decades, and Thompson left after just one season.

In 1990, Manly appointed New Zealander Graham Lowe as head coach - the first non-Manly man in the role since Russ Pepperell in 1964. The club made the finals in 1990 and 1991, but missed out in 1992 after a controversial late season loss to Illawarra. Lowe stood down before the 1993 season for health reasons, and finished with a respectable 57% winning rate.

Bob Fulton stepped in as head coach, and built on Lowe’s good work of promoting local juniors such as Steve Menzies, Daniel Gartner, Jack Elsegood and John Hopoate. Fulton added experience and class to the team, and made the Grand Final three years in a row in the mid-1990s, winning the Grand Final against St George in 1996. Fulton stepped down for family reasons in early 1999 with a winning record of 67%.

Peter Sharp took over for the rest of the ill-fated 1999 season, which saw Manly lose their place in the league as they were forced into the unhappy marriage with North Sydney that was the Northern Eagles. Sharp coached the hybrid team, as well as the newly re-registered Manly in 2003, but with little success. Sharp, who never played for Manly, finished with a winning record of 39%.

In 2004, Des Hasler took over as head coach. Untried at the top level, Hasler rebuilt the club with players such as Brett and Glenn Stewart, Steve Matai, Anthony Watmough, Matt Ballin, Jason King, and David Williams. He brought to the club players who knew how to win, such as Ben Kennedy, Josh Perry, Jamie Lyon, Matt Orford and Steve Bell. After an initial struggle, Manly returned to the playoffs in 2005 for the first time since 1998. They made the Grand Final in 2007, and won the premiership in 2008 and 2011 under the guidance of Hasler. So, it was with great disappointment that Manly farewelled Hasler after the 2011 triumph. Hasler joined Canterbury, and took the club to two Grand Finals, in 2012 and 2014.

1996 captain and Clive Churchill medallist Geoff Toovey took over from Hasler in 2012, and took the club to the Grand Final in 2013, where they were defeated by the Sydney Roosters. After making the finals in 2014, Manly opted to let go of Toovey at the end of the 2015 season. Toovey had a winning record of 57.5%.

Trent Barrett, a brilliant five-eighth for Illawarra, St George-Illawarra and Australia, took up his first head coaching position with Manly in 2016. The Sea Eagles snuck into the finals in 2017, but barely troubled the top teams during Barrett’s three year tenure. Barrett, who never played for Manly, finished with a winning record of under 40%.

So, Manly, learning the lessons of their history, returned to one of their own as head coach for the 2019 season. Des Hasler returned to the role, and helped Manly make the finals that year. In 2021, they are on the cusp of the top four. As of time of writing, Hasler has a winning record at Manly of 57%.

I’m not sure if this is a feature at other clubs. The newer clubs don’t have enough history behind them to judge, while Parramatta had Jack Gibson, Canterbury had Warren Ryan, and Canberra had Tim Sheens; all premiership winners without playing for their clubs. The bulk of the success of St George and Souths was during the captain-coach era, and the Rabbitohs’ success between 1967-1971 came with club legend Clive Churchill at the helm.

So, what is the lesson for Manly? Could they keep Des Hasler for another ten years? If not, then who can step up? Paul Vautin had amazing success with Queensland in 1995, but he is older than Des. Ivan Cleary, a player nurtured early in his career by Lowe and Fulton, seems to have a secure job at Penrith (although a package deal with Nathan Cleary in about 2026 would be amazing). Toovey is still looking for a gig if Hasler opted to retire. But Manly probably have to look within for some sort of succession plan. May I suggest Daly Cherry-Evans, an eleven year veteran of Manly already, club captain, premiership winner, Queensland captain, Clive Churchill Medal winner, would be ideally suited to the role once he retires from playing. History shows, Manly thrive when one of their own is the head coach. With Hasler back on top, the lesson has hopefully been well and truly learned.

Let me know what you think. Comment below.