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There is far more to Geoff Toovey than his reputation as one of the game’s toughest-ever players or his animated public persona.
Few are held in higher regard by the games’ biggest names, or have transferred to the business arena more successfully.
There are only two types of coaches, “Those who have been sacked, and those who will be sacked.”
Geoff Toovey faces this challenge as we write, with Penrith’s Trent Barrett set to replace him on a three-year deal.
He is not alone. Five coaching roles changed last season. Nine more did so across the three years prior.
In a previous article, we looked at how Peter Sterling considered and rejected the rigours of coaching, and how Craig Bellamy looked to exit on his own terms in 2016.
How will the game remember Tooves?
Geoff played the first of 286 first grade matches against Great Britain in 1988 while studying a business degree with Sydney’s University of Technology. It would be 2001 before he would retire.
He made his State of Origin debut in 1990, and the first of 13 internationals followed within 12 months. He overcame a broken jaw in 1993’s pre-season to become Manly Warringah’s club captain, and remained so longer than any player in the club’s history.
In 1994 he starred in NSW’s Origin whitewash, won the grand final in a Clive-Churchill-medal-winning performance and represented his country.
His loyalty to the club, and the ARL was absolute, and was rewarded with the Test captaincy against Papua New Guinea in 1996.
For Matthew Johns, he was “without exception, the toughest player of the modern era. Forget pound for pound the toughest; he was the toughest, full stop”.
Figures as diverse as Gorden Tallis and Bill Harrigan echo this, citing him as the most fiercely competitive player they’ve seen.
Geoff is humble about these claims. “I just did my best,” he says.
“I didn’t have the skills of a Brad Fittler or Andrew Johns. I didn’t have the speed of some of the players out there. Or the size. I had to make it up somewhere.”
But those close to him saw more than his fearless approach to the game.
Few know he raised his daughter as a single father for example.
He started as a chartered accountant with Crispen and Geoffrey immediately after his playing career ended, remaining with the firm for 10 years. “I’m keen to keep my hand in the business area, knowing there’s life after coaching,” he later noted.
In 2004, he re-joined the Eagles as assistant coach to Des Hasler.
Here, we saw him in the kind of on-field coaching role more associated with the AFL. Watch today as Allan Langer paces with a water bottle just behind the ruck, calling out numbers and plays.
Now imagine a slightly angrier version. That’s Geoff.
He assumed the head coaches role in 2012, after Des Hasler’s acrimonious departure, maintaining an enviable 57 per cent win ratio and securing three finals appearances – including a controversial 2013 grand final loss to the Roosters.
In 2014 he signed a three-year extension that Scott Penn and the Manly Board seem set to dishonour. His 2015 season was cruelled as an older generation’s back-ended contracts clashed with a younger generation’s expectations.
Club legends are at pains to separate any change from their personal regard for him.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald’s Daniel Lane, Manly godfather Ken Aurthurson noted, “I think the club would have to find a role for him … because he is a legendary figure at Manly. They need to use him in some capacity because he offers a lot.
“Of course it has to be dignified. He wasn’t only an outstanding player for Manly but he’s been an outstanding coach and he has been so loyal to the club he must be treated well, looked after, no matter what happens.”
Matthew Johns echoed this in the Telegraph after Manly’s notable win against the Storm early in the season. “He deserves better. Better than the constant rumours of his sacking, better than the talk of players losing faith in his coaching and certainly better than copping verbal sprays from ex-players in media interviews. The truth is Geoff Toovey inherited a whole heap of drama at Manly”.
So what is Geoff’s legacy, and what may follow?
It’s thought he has been offered, but declined, a talent-spotting role and talks continue for other opportunities in-house. With swerving NRL and state coaches excluded, others such as Bob Fulton have reportedly made a case for him to succeed Tim Sheens as Australian coach.
Forget the easily lampooned animation in the coach’s box, or his calls for an investigation.
His small frame, fearless approach, and unbroken personal and club loyalty will see him remain a genuine legend of the modern era.
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