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March 29, 2026 — 5:30am
Sacked Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold knew he was in trouble at Manly from the moment Jason King took over as chief executive in December.
It has been suggested to me that at least $750,000 has now been cut from the football budget in the form of a coach and analyst is an indication of a broader issue at the club, where penny-pinching is a genuine problem.
Seibold was sacked on Friday night following Manly’s 33-16 loss to the Roosters at Brookvale. It was their third straight defeat at home this season. Premiership-winning five-eighth Kieran Foran was on Saturday announced as the interim head coach.
Seibold’s immediate predicament was rammed home to him on Friday when people who should know started telling him another Sea Eagles premiership-winner and Broncos assistant coach Matt Ballin was going to take his job. Ballin’s appointment has not been confirmed, but those who know Seibold well have told this column that’s when he knew it would be a matter of hours, not days or weeks, until he was looking for a new gig.
Let’s cut to the chase. Seibold was seen as an appointment by his mate and former Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov. King has no emotional connection to Seibold and no reason to be loyal to him. When Mestrov went, Seibold should have been moved on. But Manly have been poorly run for years, and instead they were dealing with a coach who was not really wanted.
Take it as fact: Seibold knew that and sensed the lack of support. Unfortunately, it extended to some sections of the playing group. The point of no return was the botched contract dealings with Daly Cherry-Evans. There was no way Mestrov – Seibold’s bodyguard – was going to survive that, and ultimately, it meant Seibold’s life span as Sea Eagles coach was always going to be limited.
Fox, Broncos crisis summit over Tallis
Fox Sports and the Brisbane Broncos have held crisis talks because of relentless attacks on coach Michael Maguire by the network, led by club legend and now Titans part-owner Gorden Tallis.
Once close allies as News Corp bedfellows, Fox and the Broncos couldn’t be further apart now, despite the media giant maintaining its majority share of the club.
Tallis’ disdain for Maguire is obvious and well-documented. Even before the latest drama to engulf the club – when assistant coach Ben Te’o resigned during the week – talks were held between Fox Sports managing director Steve Crawley and Broncos crisis manager Grant Williams.
The Broncos can do nothing right, according to Fox, which is backing Tallis all the way. The “Raging Bull” would prefer the narrative to switch to another club, as he has been copping it on social media, but the Broncos drama rates.
Crawley and Williams are old media hardheads and both worked at the Nine Network as heavies in their own divisions.
Williams was the only person at the Broncos organisation to sit in the Gorden Tallis meeting room at Brisbane headquarters – no one else wanted to go in there because of Tallis’ stance. The room has since been renamed after Broncos and Jillaroos legend Ali Brigginshaw.
Not only is Williams juggling ongoing dramas at the Broncos, he is also conducting a major review and providing oversight of all media operations of the Queensland Police Service.
He is driving between Broncos HQ at Red Hill and Roma St police headquarters multiple times a week.
Tracey poised to ink Dogs deal
The Bulldogs expect fullback Connor Tracey will agree to a new two-year contract in the next 48 hours.
The club wanted to wait until after the Las Vegas season opener to make their offer to Tracey and did so when club general manager of football Phil Gould took Tracey for a Chinese meal at Canterbury Leagues during the week.
Gould told Tracey to put it to one side until after Saturday’s clash with Newcastle. Tracey has played his best football at the Bulldogs where he has settled in at fullback after arriving as one of many utility players signed two years ago. It would be a surprise if he didn’t put pen to paper by Sunday night.
Chammas’ Cleary approach by the book
Some out-of-the-loop media figures have been critical of the approach Michael Chammas took towards trying to poach Panthers coach Ivan Cleary for the inaugural gig at the Papua New Guinea Chiefs from 2028. They said Chammas was running off at the mouth about it, inferring he was unprofessional. The truth is he spoke to Panthers boss Matt Cameron and let him know he wanted to ask Ivan about his interest in PNG.
After he made Cameron aware, he approached the four-time premiership-winning coach, who ultimately rejected the overtures. Willie Peters was appointed Chiefs coach on Friday.
We told you weeks ago that the Hull Kingston Rovers coach was the man for the Chiefs, but there is one person who will need some placating.
PNG Prime Minister James Marape was pushing hard for Adrian Lam to get the head coaching job, but ARLC supremo Peter V’landys backed Peters. Lam may end up being part of the set-up if he can handle working with Peters. Not only is Peters the right coach for the job, he is the right man.
Teacher fires off note to Gus about Galvin
Bulldogs halfback Lachlan Galvin continues to make huge strides on and off the field.
This is a note sent to the Bulldogs general manager of football, Phil Gould.
“My name is Nathan Chandra, and I’m a PDHPE teacher at Cabramatta High School. I just wanted to share a really positive experience we recently had with Lachlan Galvin.
“Despite playing in Canberra on Thursday night, Lachlan still made the effort to come out to our school on his recovery day to speak with our rugby teams. He was incredibly generous with his time, shared valuable knowledge, and made a genuine effort to connect with the students, answering questions and taking photos with everyone.
“With so much media attention around players, I thought it was important to highlight this side of the game and the positive impact players can have in the community. It certainly didn’t go unnoticed by our staff or students.”
For argument’s sake
Queensland Origin coach Billy Slater hasn’t forgotten the “glass houses” comments Michael Maguire schooled him with during the Blues’ series win in 2024.
Slater has been openly critical of Maguire as Broncos coach. It’s hard to know if his pursuit of Ben Te’o for a spot on the Maroons staff actually played a part in Te’o’s decision to leave the Broncos.
Slater mentioned it at Christmas and was told by Broncos chief executive Dave Donaghy that it was a no-go as the club had flopped when Matt Ballin and John Cartwright left for Origin in 2024. Ballin is already an Origin assistant this year.
Te’o has also talked openly about having had tough conversations with Broncos players including superstar fullback Reece Walsh, as he tried to inspire him to reach new heights.
“We have a lot of heated conversations … arguments, me and Reece,” Teo said on the Inside Ball podcast. “But it is my job.”
That’s why the narrative of a heated chat with Maguire being the reason for his exit is hard to swallow. There appears to be more to this.
Juniors splash the cash for Johnston jersey
The Alex Johnston tribute dinner for becoming the premiership’s leading tryscorer was a beauty and the jumper he wore to do so was a big money spinner.
Souths Juniors bought the jumper that he wore when he scored the double against the Roosters to break Ken Irvine’s 212-try record for $35,000.
Roosters see funny side of Smith spill
It’s taken a bit of time, but the Roosters can now joke about the e-bike injury to Billy Smith. The players have even made sure people look out for the star centre by giving him some L-plates for his bike. Smith is still looking for the player who put the plates on his bike. We asked him if he knew who was behind it, but he was none the wiser. It was clear he was OK with the gag. It could have been coach Trent Robinson, as he has had a couple of light-hearted cracks at Smith in media conferences.
