Toovey or not Toovey, that is the question
Columnist By David Lord, 17 Feb 2012 David Lord is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- Geoff Toovey, Manly Sea Eagles, NRL, Rugby League
New Manly Sea Eagles head coach Geoff Toovey. AAP Image/Dean Lewins
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Nobody is more Manly than new coach Geoff Toovey. Educated at Davidson High in Frenchs Forest, the pocket-rocket half-cum-hooker played 286 first grade games for Manly, 48 of those for the ill-fated Northern Eagles, the amalgamation of Manly and North Sydney.
Toovey knows how to lead, captaining Manly to the 1996 premiership and grand finals in 1995 and 1998.
He retired in 2001 after 16 Origins, and 13 Tests, linking with Des Hasler as his assistant when Hasler took over as coach in 2004.
A chartered accountant by degree, Toovey will firstly figure out how to beat Leeds at Headingly in the World Club Challenge at the weekend and then retain the NRL premiership with a club that’s still reeling after imploding post-season.
The acidic way Hasler departed for Belmore in the off-season and took champion recruiter Noel Cleal with him rocked Manly’s faithful.
Don’t blame Hasler.
It was entirely the fault of the Manly directors, who sat on their butts and failed to lock Hasler in during the season for three more years. The directors opened the door, and Hasler bolted.
Step up to the plate Geoff Toovey.
He has a truck-load of spectacular talent to work with: up front Anthony Watmough, Glenn Stewart, and Brent Kite; out the back, skipper Jamie Lyon, Brett Stewart, Daly Cherry-Evans, Kieren Forlan, and the massively-haired winger David Williams – all internationals.
The Leeds clash will be an early litmus test for Toovey and his team. The weather will be bitterly cold, even snowing. But Toovey has promised some hot rugby league.
And that’s what the expected capacity 17,500 crowd will get from exciting pivots Cherry-Evans and Forlan, Brett Stewart chiming in from full-back, Williams’ punishing finishing, and the enterprising leadership of Lyon directing traffic mid-field.
The last time these two teams met in the World Club Challenge in 2009, Manly was successful 28-20 at Elland Road.
The referee tomorrow night will be 32 year-old Australian Ashley Klein. The last time he controlled a Club Challenge was when Leeds beat Melbourne 11-4 in 2008.
It was also the last time a British side won the Challenge.
The omens are even.
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- Explore:
- Geoff Toovey, Manly Sea Eagles, NRL, Rugby League
February 17th 2012 @ 8:41am
Andrew said | February 17th 2012 @ 8:41am | Report comment
“Toovey knows how to lead, captaining Manly to the 1996 premiership and grand finals in 1995 and 1998.”
That would be 1995 and 1997.
“Kieren Forlan” is Kieran Foran.
February 17th 2012 @ 9:19am
Mals said | February 17th 2012 @ 9:19am | Report comment
David – Manly doesn’t need Dollar Dazzler Ha$ler, we have Toovey who is ready to step up as Head Coach.
Ha$ler has taken his “under the radar” & anti-NRL stance to the Bulldogs. Good luck to Todd Greenberg in trying to manage him!
February 17th 2012 @ 9:20am
Todd Slater said | February 17th 2012 @ 9:20am | Report comment
Interesting times for Manly. Lots of questions. Toovey could be like Anthony Griffin, who came into the job with respect & took it from there. Manly has always thrived on their ‘insular peninsula’ mentality, Roy Masters eternal legacy really. Their ownership structure is their cancer though. Not having an outright owner is always going to be fraught with potholes. The Hasler episode was a debacle from start to finish. That they couldn’t close out the deal over a season says volumes about where their management is at. The Peters circus just added to it. Still they are now are tough seasoned outfit, wether Toovey can get & keep them up for a whole season remains to be seen.
February 17th 2012 @ 9:45am
Johnno said | February 17th 2012 @ 9:45am | Report comment
Dessy Hasler was more Manly than Geoff Toovey.
February 17th 2012 @ 1:31pm
Mals said | February 17th 2012 @ 1:31pm | Report comment
Nope I don’t think so Johnno.
Hasler is from the Western Suburbs. He came to Manly as a 23 year old after playing for Penrith for 2 years. Yes he did play a lot of games for Manly but less than Toovey. Hasler then played a season at Wests (as well as a stint at Hull in 1994).
Toovey is born & raised in the Warringah shire so a local Manly Warringah junior. He’s also a one club player & has only coached at Manly.
February 17th 2012 @ 9:51am
Chris said | February 17th 2012 @ 9:51am | Report comment
Manly administration is clearly a basketcase. Let’s wait and see whether the team can continue to perform despite all the backroom shenanigans. Whether Toovey is up to the job or not will be proven this year. Just because someone had a successful career as a player doesn’t make them a good coach. Look at Brad Fittler.
But I don’t believe Hasler is lily-white in all this. My guess is there is plenty of blame to be shared around on both sides.
February 17th 2012 @ 10:20am
Bearfax said | February 17th 2012 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Moving right along. All this talk of Toovey vs Hasler is a bit passe now. Haslet did an excellent job coaching Manly, but he was always going to leave, because Toovey was always being prepared to take over the coaching role (and later the management of the Manly club). Toovey waas a great hard player and an excellent captain. He has a good business nous but is he a good coach. Only time will tell.
February 17th 2012 @ 10:40am
aussiepolliessport said | February 17th 2012 @ 10:40am | Report comment
Manly goes from a coach that they grew to hate and forced out of the club early, to a coach hated by many fans of the NRL through the 1990s.
February 17th 2012 @ 11:12am
turbodewd said | February 17th 2012 @ 11:12am | Report comment
How does he go straight from waterboy to coach?! Seriously!
February 17th 2012 @ 12:47pm
Bearfax said | February 17th 2012 @ 12:47pm | Report comment
If you’re a Manly supporter you learn to live with irrational hate. It warms the cockles of the heart. Masters started the whole affair as a joke, but no one seemed to get it and took him seriously. Missed the punchline entirely
February 17th 2012 @ 12:58pm
oikee said | February 17th 2012 @ 12:58pm | Report comment
Tooves is another Nathan Brown, just one of the boys.
Manly have not got enough cash to splash on a “real” coach now, it is all downhill from here.
Losing Dessy will come back to haunt them, if they are still around in 10 years time.
February 17th 2012 @ 1:41pm
Mals said | February 17th 2012 @ 1:41pm | Report comment
I think you will be proved wrong Oikee. The only thing in common between Brown & Toovey is the fact they were blonde haired footballers. Brown took over as Dragons coach as a 29 year with no NRL coaching experience. Toovey is 42 years old & has been an assistant coach at Manly for 7 years. Give yourself an uppercut!
That’s ok Oikee, we’ll still look forward to beating the Broncos on a regular basis.
February 17th 2012 @ 5:26pm
Andy said | February 17th 2012 @ 5:26pm | Report comment
Toovey could be the next Wayne bennett too bad he would never coach the broncos.