Manly fans: give Hasler the respect he deserves
Columnist By Tim Prentice, 18 Jul 2012
- Tagged:
- 2012 NRL season, Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs, Des Hasler, Manly Sea Eagles, NRL, Rugby League
Should the Manly boardwalk for Hasler handling ineptitude? (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
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Spectator rivalry in rugby league is a wonderful thing, but every so often it simmers and spews over boundaries that should never be crossed.
And for this reason, I fear that Des Hasler’s return to Brookvale Oval as coach of the Bulldogs on Friday night could turn ugly.
Hasler encourages Manly fans to take aim
Signs are blaring that Des is heading for a very uncomfortable night at his former base, Brookvale, and I am not referring to what actually transpires on the field.
There are plenty of Manly folk who have not forgiven Hasler for leaving the club last October, just five days after steering it to a second premiership after his brilliant, eight year tenure as the main man at Brookvale.
Roarers must have noticed the venom and vitriol levelled at Hasler on social websites and talkback radio when, a few days after the grand final triumph over NZ Warriors, he elected to sign with the Canterbury Bulldogs for season 2013 and beyond.
History shows that the Manly hierarchy wasn’t happy with Hasler’s decision to leave and gave him an immediate release, installing Geoff Toovey as the Sea Eagles’ first grade coach.
The level of hatred, if this is the right word, seems to have heightened in Sea Eagles territory in recent days as we all prepare for what shapes as the game of the year. I understand there will be visual (placards, posters, banners) as well as audible assaults planned for Hasler’s ‘homecoming’ from Manly supporters.
Canterbury and Manly have met once since that tumult of last year, with the camouflaged-jerseyed Eagles grafting out a tense 12-10 victory at ANZ Stadium in the 2012 Anzac Round.
But that wasn’t at Fortress Brookvale. This is.
Granted, Des Hasler is a very experienced campaigner and, knowing him pretty well, any public hullabaloo will be treated like water off a duck’s back.
I believe he deserves much better, especially at Brooky.
His service record with the Manly Warringah club richly entitles him to the tag of ‘All Time Great’, not ‘Des-erter’. The halfback-turned lock played 255 games in the maroon and white and spent a total of 11 years on the coaching staff – eight in first grade for three grand final appearances and two premierships.
It should be pointed out that he did not want to leave Manly at the time. He tried exhaustively to snare a contract upgrade/extension in the 18 months before his departure but the floundering Sea Eagles board kept stalling and baulking.
It’s a fact that the contract Hasler eventually signed with the Bulldogs was for less than Manly’s final money offer.
Why wouldn’t he leave for the job security he craved and join a financial, successful club with a highly stable and progressive administration?
Hasler deserves to be treated with the utmost respect when he brings his table-topping Bulldogs to Brookvale.
Anything less will be a blight on the people who love to say they hail from God’s country.
If they vent their fury in his direction after all he has done for the joint, I reckon they should all go to hell.
July 18th 2012 @ 6:01am
schuey said | July 18th 2012 @ 6:01am | Report comment
I started going to Brooky in 87 and watched Dessie as a top halfback, go on to become a truly master coach. Just watch what he does with the Doggies.
I’ll never forget what Dessie did for the Eagles, he dragged us out of the shit where we might have disappeared forever. I will always be grateful and hope he comes back home to Brookvale one day.
July 18th 2012 @ 7:02am
Andy said | July 18th 2012 @ 7:02am | Report comment
It can be difficult earning respect when you are associated with the dogs and even worse their fans. I don’t think of good public images when i think of the dogs.
July 18th 2012 @ 7:16am
llieno said | July 18th 2012 @ 7:16am | Report comment
Andy, I think that perception of Bulldogs fans has changed completely. Nothing compared to what it was around 2003-05.
July 18th 2012 @ 7:32am
Andy said | July 18th 2012 @ 7:32am | Report comment
Yes you are correct but when i think of the dogs, stories of unruly fans and the 2003-05 stuff springs to mind more then when i think of other clubs.
July 18th 2012 @ 10:12am
rl said | July 18th 2012 @ 10:12am | Report comment
yeah, I’d be more worried if the scenario was the other way around (i.e. Canterbury crowd awaiting a perceived “turncoat”). Suspect the police would be too…
July 18th 2012 @ 2:14pm
SamClench said | July 18th 2012 @ 2:14pm | Report comment
I agree. I remember back in ’04, ’05, the Doggies were the team everyone loved to hate. Wasn’t just about them winning, it was the culture at the club. Unruly fans, dickhead players. In the last few years they’ve become a club that is really worthy of our respect.
July 18th 2012 @ 7:52am
Mals said | July 18th 2012 @ 7:52am | Report comment
That’ complete rubbish that Hasler didn’t want to leave. It is well known that he had issues with several Manly board members. He had 18 months left on his contract if he didn’t want to leave he would have told Greenburg he was not interested & he would have started negotiating in 2012 with Manly for an extension.
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July 18th 2012 @ 9:02pm
Tim Prentice said | July 18th 2012 @ 9:02pm | Report comment
Hey Mals, Des wanted a proper extension of his contract in 2011 and was told it would not be forthcoming until he ticked off a number of coaching KPI’s set up by management.
That was a phenomenal insult for a man of his stature (ie player/premiership winning coach) at the club but he did not want to leave.
In the end, time ran out for Manly. The Bulldogs swooped to guarantee him job security , a potential premiership team and the money he deserved.
July 18th 2012 @ 8:04am
Pot Stirrer said | July 18th 2012 @ 8:04am | Report comment
I hope its as firey on the field as what it is being built upto,
July 18th 2012 @ 8:23am
Mals said | July 18th 2012 @ 8:23am | Report comment
Agreed. The media are doing a good job to whip this game up into a frenzy. They have even resorted to reading the Manly fan forums & taking quotes about Des.
July 18th 2012 @ 8:33am
eagleJack said | July 18th 2012 @ 8:33am | Report comment
I love Dessie. Fantastic bloke who delivered us 2 premierships as a coach. And 2 as a player. Manly fans will never forget his services to the club over a 25 year period.
I won’t be there on Fri night unfortunately. I am hoping that the scenes aren’t over the top but we all know Rugby League is a tribal game. That’s why we love it. There will be an element of spite in the crowd. But let’s face it, Des will take it as a compliment. If the Dogs were hopeless under him and sitting at the foot of the table, there would be very little reaction from the crowd. A few ironic jeers perhaps.
But the Dogs are flying and the Brookie crowd will do anything to put the Dogs off their game. Des will understand that having witnessed it many times first hand whilst at the helm. They will be baying for blood (figuratively) which will make the atmosphere electric. And the Manly side usually performs best when exposed to that sort of environment. And at the end of the day that’s all the fans are hoping for.
And I guarantee Todd Greenberg, a known promoter of the entertainment side of the game, wouldn’t want anything less.
July 18th 2012 @ 9:16am
Michael Culina said | July 18th 2012 @ 9:16am | Report comment
A lot of Manly’s success over the past few years…actually, since 2005 when we made the finals for the first time since 1998 and have made the finals ever since…can be attributed to Des. For that reason I’m appreciative and thankful to Des, as a fan, for what he did while he was on our coaching staff. I’m a bit too young to remember what he did for us in his playing days but from all accounts he was a vital cog in our (mostly) formidible teams from the late 1980s to mid 1990s.
I was disappointed by what happened last year, I think it could have been handled a lot better at both ends of the stick really. On the one hand Des may have been biting the hand that fed him by asking for a contract upgrade and extension well before his contract expired, which could be seen as starting the whole thing…on the other hand the Manly club should have been mindful of how good Des was and how much he brought to the team, and should therefore have been more proactive about keeping him…I don’t know the full story.
But the washup was that he left and should expect the same treatment that any other opposition coach/player gets at Brookie (if just a little bit stronger for him). I’m all for passion and pride, and good-natured ribbing and stick is part of the game, but anything personal and/or violent is way over the top. God forbid anything like that happens this weekend…I would be ashamed of my club if it did.
Thanks for the memories Dessie, all the best at the Dogs…just not when you play Manly…
July 18th 2012 @ 12:33pm
seanmaguire said | July 18th 2012 @ 12:33pm | Report comment
Yeah that’s pretty much how I feel. As Tim said it wasn’t so much that he left but the timing of the announcement, 5 days after winning the GF. It really took the edge off what he achieved and I felt at the time and still do that it was a big up yours to the Manly management. The trouble was it was also an up yours to a lot of fans and I really think he should have held off for a couple of weeks to let the fans celebrate the win, but I’ve always got the impression that Des doesn’t really give two hoots about the fans anyway. Still I’m looking forward to fridaynight
July 18th 2012 @ 2:45pm
Matt F said | July 18th 2012 @ 2:45pm | Report comment
The only problem with that was that the media was already reporting it as a done deal. They’d already started reporting it before the GF. The cat was out of the bag so there was no point denying it anymore. If he’d waited a few more weeks then people would have been angry at him for hiding it for those weeks.
July 18th 2012 @ 9:22am
Matt F said | July 18th 2012 @ 9:22am | Report comment
I’m sure that Des won’t care about what reception he gets, as long as the Dogs pick up the 2 points. If it’s anything like the earlier clash this season, we’re in for an absolute beauty!
July 18th 2012 @ 9:40am
Jimbo said | July 18th 2012 @ 9:40am | Report comment
I’m a manly fan and have nothing but respect for Des. I blame the board for the malarkey last season, and don’t blame Des for leaving. He is a true great of the club, and the way he was disrespected during his contract negotiations was a disgrace.
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July 18th 2012 @ 11:39am
Mals said | July 18th 2012 @ 11:39am | Report comment
Nice work Jimbo, keep your eyes closed mate.
July 18th 2012 @ 11:23am
Bearfax said | July 18th 2012 @ 11:23am | Report comment
Personally I think most of the anger is media stimulated. Sure we are disappointed Des left the Eagle Nest and stole Tony Williams. But in the end its business and it seems to me that Toovey has learned a few things and in a year or two may match Hasler’s skills. At present Hasler is now the best coach in the League…sorry, but what he has done for the faltering Canterbury in such a short time and what he achieved at Manly I believe warrants that assessment. And good luck to him and the dogs, who may very well win this comp (I suspect only three have a realistic chance….Melbourne, Canterbury and South Sydney….Brisbane big outsiders).
Manly will need to be at their very best on Sunday to win this one. I dream of them winning again this year but I think it unlikely. I think though, barring injury, Manly will again be a major threat to the premiership in 2013.
July 18th 2012 @ 11:38am
Mals said | July 18th 2012 @ 11:38am | Report comment
I hope it’s the Canterbury team that turn up on Sunday.
Manly will be ready & waiting for kick off at Brookvale on Friday night.
July 18th 2012 @ 12:17pm
steve b said | July 18th 2012 @ 12:17pm | Report comment
I just hope cool heads are kept on and off the feild ,,the media beat up on this game seems to be promoting a drama ,,it should be a great game if everyone sticks to footy…