Mad Max Delmege bags Hasler in a Facebook farce

 
Tim Prentice Columnist

By , 2 Oct 2012

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    Mad Max Delmege bags Hasler in a Facebook farce + enlarge image

    Should the Manly boardwalk for Hasler handling ineptitude? (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

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    From here on, Max Delmege – former owner and bank roller of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles – should only be referred to as Mad Max.

    His extraordinary slagging of Bulldogs’ coach Des Hasler in the aftermath to the grand final was way, way out of line.

    Over the years, this guy has tipped plenty of coin into the Manly Warringah club but from where I sit, he is nothing more than a headline-grabbing goose, a football tosser and an ignoramus. In short, he exudes more dollars than sense.

    In the hours following the Melbourne Storm’s gritty and deserving 14-4 Grand Final defeat of the Hasler-coached Canterbury team at ANZ Stadium, Delmege turned feral on Facebook with one of the 2012 season’s most poisonous sprays.

    Delmege wrote: “I feel I have to say this: Des Hasler, if you had not been so greedy and self-opinionated, you would be coach of the premiers again tonight . . . the Manly Sea Eagles.

    “The players, staff and myself gave you all of the support, both personally and financially, to the best of what the present-day environment could afford. Obviously this was not enough.

    “You made an error in judgement in which we (the club and its supporters) forgive you. See you next year in the grand final.”

    Well, that will do me.

    Some facts would not go astray here, MM. Or does your rampant ego make you ignore such ‘trivialities’ in your public attempt to discredit who I believe to be a fabulous football coach and a thoroughly decent man?

    Your Sea Eagles had a chance to lock up Hasler as the Sea Eagles’ coach many times before he signed on the dotted line with the Belmore boys.

    He repeatedly asked your club’s board for some longevity in his contract but such a promise was not/could not be made at the time. Des did what any professional Rugby League coach would do.

    He decided to sign on with the Bulldogs, a club he felt was on the ‘up,’ a highly professional organisation that was prepared to offer and pay the correct market price for his services.

    I understand Manly wasn’t exactly flush at the time (and, of course, no-one knew for sure that the Eagles would wind up as the 2011 premiers).

    Memo Mad Max: From your real estate background, you should know a thing or two about market prices and the worth of a special, and in-demand commodity.

    Surely, you have had a couple of parties vying for one of your properties and chose to run with the party that had guaranteed money in the bank, not the one awaiting finances, and other factors to fall into place.

    To label Des Hasler ‘greedy and self-opinionated’ is churlish. What’s the story here — were you drunk on sour grapes when you launched your Facebook tirade?

    Really, it doesn’t matter now.

    Hasler is very much a Canterbury man and the future he faces as head coach of the Belmore-based club looks to be rosy, to say the least.

    His team won the minor premiership, but fell short in the title decider to an outfit that was a tad too good on the night and took its chances when the Bulldogs muffed most of theirs.

    Hasler’s team has been strengthened considerably for 2013 and beyond. The Canterbury management has ensured that all is in place for what shapes as a golden era.

    You and your mates, Max, had umpteen chances to keep Des Hasler at the helm in Brookvale.

    You blew them all mate. Your most prized property went to a superior bidder.

    In classic real estate parlance, you got gazumped.