Memo to Scott Penn and David Perry: sign Des Hasler to coach for as long as he wants. The man with the surfie hair and the school teaching background is one of the NRL’s best and most underrated coaches.
A Manly legend from his playing days, Hasler has been instrumental in turning the club around since he took the reins in 2004. The Sea Eagles made their first finals in six years in 2005, and have made every finals since then under his watch.
Hasler’s influence culminated in two grand finals appearances in 2007 and 2008, where they were beaten by the salary-cap dodging Melbourne Storm in 2007 but found redemption a year later with a historic 40-0 win against the same club.
With his key lieutenants Geoff Toovey and Noel Cleal by his side, Hasler has been the central figure in Manly’s revival. The privatisation of the club and the input of Max Delmege and Scott Penn have kept the Sea Eagles alive, but Hasler has kept them flying.
A fitness fanatic and a quietly religious man, Hasler has installed a great work ethic at the club. Manly have become renowned for their tough defence, a characteristic that Hasler was known for himself as a player. His eye for talent has been helped by former teammate and recruitment guru Noel Cleal.
These two have spotted and developed so many talented players it is hard to mention them all – Steve Matai, Matt Ballin, Michael Robertson, Trent Hodkinson, Adam Cuthbertson, Michael Oldfield, David Williams, Vic Mauro, Jamie Buhrer, Michael Bani etc etc. Two of the latest projects – Liam Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans – are currently proving to be perhaps their greatest effort of all.
Apart from his dedication and commitment, Hasler has also brought stability and unity to the club. Manly, like all sporting organisations, has had its fair share of personality clashes, incidents and boardroom stoushes but Hasler has been an oasis of calm.
He has brought strong leadership and been a uniting force that has kept the players together despite numerous crises. Jose Mourinho-esque at times, he has always managed to deflect pressure and media attention away from his players and on to himself just like the controversial Portuguese manager.
At the moment Manly sits in second on the NRL table. They are destined for a top four finish and another run at the finals, while the minor premiership might be just out of their reach. But they are again a good chance at reaching the grand final, and this despite the fact many pundits and analysts wrote them off at the start of the season.
Hasler has this Manly side humming along beautifully – a fantastic mix of young tykes like Foran, Cherry-Evans and Hopoate and experienced pros like Brett Kite, Brett Stewart and Jamie Lyon.
Grand final winners this year or not, Hasler has been a godsend to the Manly club. At the moment I believe his current contract, upgraded earlier this year, ends at the end of 2014. But that is not enough. Manly need to tie him down longer, and kill any chance of him heading to the UK or another NRL team.
Hasler has the pedigree to eclipse another Manly legend’s coaching record at the club, Bob Fulton, and I believe he can eventually have the kind of impact on the northern beaches outfit like Wayne Bennett had on the Broncos. Coaching NSW and Australia isn’t also out of the question for this private man.
A passionate individual who ‘s also handy at taking off a door when you need, Hasler is the right person to keep Manly at the top of the rugby league tree.
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