Anthony Seibold has defended his record as Manly coach, claiming any suggestion the Sea Eagles’ clash with Wests Tigers could be job-defining is “agenda-driven” and “nonsensical”.

In a lengthy press conference on Thursday, Seibold declared Daly Cherry-Evans would remain captain for the rest of 2025, and confirmed Tom Trbojevic’s centre move was a short-term one.

But the Manly coach also saved a lengthy defence for himself, with his job in the spotlight after shock losses to Newcastle and Gold Coast left the Sea Eagles 10th on the NRL ladder.

Manly CEO Tony Mestrov raised eyebrows last week when he said Seibold was “safe at this point”, before stating on Monday those were “just words” and that the coach was definitely safe.

“If it’s been said (this is a huge game), that’s agenda-driven,” Seibold said on Thursday.

“If you look at the facts, I came in at the end of 2022. The club had lost seven or eight games in a row.

“There was a lot of commentary around the pride jersey. We won more games in 2023 than we did in 2022. We won more games in 2024 than we did in 2023.

“This year, we’ve played some exceptional footy. But we’ve also played poorly at times. The gap between our best and our worst has been too wide for my liking.”

Seibold did confirm there had been a discussion around a succession plan as coach at the end of 2027, in order to stop the roster from being blown up again.

It has emerged in the past fortnight that Manly had discussed former NSW hooker Michael Ennis eventually taking over.

“(That’s) in regards to putting the future of the club first,” Seibold said.

“It came off a one-off conversation, or two conversations around that. And then it got leaked to the media last week for whatever reason. 

“But again, that says more around some other people’s interests than mine.”

Regardless, Seibold insisted the pressure on him was not real pressure compared to “what’s going on in Israel or Ukraine”.

But the former South Sydney and Brisbane coach insisted he was also confident in the direction Manly were headed.

“If you look at the bigger picture and what we’ve done over the last two and a half years, we’ve got packed houses here every single week,” Seibold said. 

“We’ve developed a footy team that can beat any team in the competition on our day. We’ve just got to close the gap consistently.

Daly Cherry-Evans. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“That’s part of my role and the players’ role. 

“To suggest you’re a good coach if you win this week or you’re a poor coach if you don’t is in many ways nonsensical.

“I’ve got good perspective on what’s important. I know what we need to do.

“We’ve got plans in place for now. I think it’s quite laughable. 

“But it’s also I know that there’s an agenda somewhere in the background. It says more about those people than myself.”

Seibold also rejected any suggestion that Cherry-Evans’ contract saga had been a distraction after he announced his looming end-of-season exit in March.

The Manly coach said he had never considered changing the captaincy, pointing to Adam Reynolds taking Souths to the 2021 grand final as proof it could work.

Cherry-Evans spoke to the team at a regular “campfire” talk last week, with Seibold insisting he did well to address the issue.

Seibold also revealed Trbojevic trained through the bye after being told he was moving to centre, and said 2024 was proof a short stint there could work with Lehi Hopoate wearing No.1.

“We put him to centre last year and he got a bit of confidence,” Seibold said. 

“Then he got his game back on and he played outstanding at the back end of the year and made the Kangaroos side.

“It’s about allowing ‘Turbo’ to go and play with a bit of freedom and flow.”

De Belin departs Dragons

St George Illawarra’s decision to tell Jack de Belin to hit the road to take up an offer from Parramatta has created a fan backlash over the veteran stalwart not being able to finish his career as a one-club player.

New CEO Tim Watsford recently told de Belin that the club would not be offering him a contract extension beyond the end of this season and as a result, the former NSW Origin forward has signed with the Eels on a two-year deal starting in 2026.

There is an outside chance that the Dragons will let him walk mid-season if they can strike a deal before the deadline at the end of the week.

Complicating matters is the fact that the Dragons host the Eels on Saturday in Wollongong, two days before the June 30 deadline.

“Jack has been an outstanding servant of the club over the past 15 years,” said Watsford.

“These decisions are never easy, but as a club we need to balance the needs of the playing roster over both the short and long term and with a host of promising young forwards now emerging into genuine first graders we felt this was the best outcome for the club moving forward.

“While Jack won’t finish his career as a one-club player, there is no questioning the loyalty that has been shown both by Jack towards the Dragons and from the Dragons towards Jack over the past 15 years.

“He has been an outstanding player over a decade-and-a-half in the Red V and we wish him nothing but the very best for the next chapter of his career.”

De Belin, in a club statement, said his focus was on finishing his final season at the Dragons on a positive note.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of my time at the club and have made some wonderful friends and memories,” he said.

“I’m also grateful for the way the fans have always supported me since the day I arrived here as a teenager.”

De Belin is 34 and has played 242 matches for the Dragons since his debut in 2011.

Jack de Belin (Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)

He missed the entire 2019 and 2020 seasons after he was controversially banned under the NRL’s no-fault, stand-down policy while he faced sexual assault charges which were eventually dropped after two trials failed to reach a verdict.

The Eels’ deal is for 2026 with the club holding the option on whether he gets a second season in blue and gold.

Parramatta are also hoping of prying Tallyn Da Silva from the Wests Tigers before the signings deadline with the talented young gun growing restless after being given no guarantees about getting the nod as their long-term hooker.

Although they face competition from the Knights and Cowboys for his services.

AFB goes into bat for Hynes

Star Cronulla signing Addin Fonua-Blake has admitted to checking-out during games, but says the Sharks must urgently hit form to resuscitate their NRL season.

Sixth-placed Cronulla have the worst win percentage against the other top-eight sides, claiming only one win from seven this season.

Since their shock five-point win over Melbourne in round 11, Craig Fitzgibbon’s men have won just one game and fallen to three top-eight sides.

Fonua-Blake was touted as the missing piece in the Sharks’ premiership puzzle on arrival from the Warriors this year, but admitted he has been below his best during the form slump.

“I’ve had a few mental lapses in the game on the weekend and in the few games I’ve dropped on along the way this year,” he said.

Nicholas Hynes pleading his case. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

“I want to be doing everything I can to make sure that I help the team perform as best they can.”

Sunday’s rematch against the Storm at AAMI Park is shaping to be one of the biggest tests to date for the Sharks, with just two competition points separating fifth from 11th.

“(I) feel like every game is pretty urgent. We don’t want to be where we’re sitting at the moment,” Fonua-Blake said.

“We’ve dropped a few on the run now and we can’t afford to drop any more.”

Halfback Nicho Hynes has been highly criticised for his contribution to the team’s performance, but Fonua-Blake dismissed the idea.

“It’s not right that Nicho wears all the punishment and all the pressure is on his shoulders,” he said.

“I’m pretty sure out of the 17 blokes that took the field 17 of us would put our hand up and say we weren’t good enough. So Nicho’s unrightfully been the easy scapegoat over a few years.”

Teammate Teig Wilton argued discipline was key to finding form.

“It’s our discipline around our game plan, and our discipline to have attention to detail, to little things,” he said.

“It’s not easy to win in this comp, and if you’re a little bit off in too many areas, you obviously pay for it and that’s what happened.”

The edge forward was hospitalised on Sunday after copping a poke in the eye against Brisbane, but said the injury won’t affect his game this week.

“I just got a bit of a poke and got a bit of a scratch across the surface so I just couldn’t really see for a few hours,” he said.

“But it’s coming good, it heals pretty quick so I’m happy with it.”

Wilton said both physical and mental aspects of the game were a focus for Cronulla’s crucial coming weeks.

“Coaching staff put so much effort into us and the fans they can see that we have the talent and we have the ability, and when we don’t perform on our potential, I think it can be frustrating,” he said.

with AAP