Manly appoint Des Hasler as head coach for the next three years

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have today announced Des Hasler as the new Head Coach for the next three years.

A premiership-winning player and coach with the Sea Eagles, Hasler returns ‘home’ to a club he coached to two NRL premierships and three grand finals from 2004-11.

Sea Eagles Chairman, Scott Penn, welcomed Hasler back to Manly.

“Des was instrumental in delivering the Club enormous success after the Northern Eagles era.

“I could not be more confident that he can take the Club back to a new era of success,’’ Penn said.

“Des is a Manly man, demands success and will deliver the Club results that our members and fans have come to expect.”

Sea Eagles CEO, Lyall Gorman said: “Des is an icon in our Club’s history and I know his return will be fully embraced by our Members and fan base.

“We all know the hunger for success and passion and pride he showed for our Club over so many years both as a player and a Coach and in speaking with him recently, I can assure you that those values remain core to what drives him today.”

Hasler was named the Rugby League International Federation Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2011 whilst at the club and is excited to be back.

“Manly has always been a proud club, one that has had an extremely passionate and loyal supporter base,” Hasler said.

“We need to reinvigorate all of the ingredients that made Manly the Club that it is, including maintaining the highest possible standards both on and off the field.

“It is imperative that we engage at a high level with all of our members, fans and stakeholders to enable them to share the journey ahead with us.

“A journey that I know will be a great one.”

The Sea Eagles start pre-season training on Monday, November 5 and with Hasler now officially taking over as the head coach, Trent Barrett’s role at the club is still unknown.

“We’ve been clear for the last few months that Trent is still employed by the club,” Sea Eagles Chairman, Scott Penn, told the media.

“He has a contract, he resigned, that was his decision and as a club, we need to protect our interest and that’s exactly what we are doing.”

Key facts:

After taking Manly to the finals from 2005-2007, Hasler delivered the Club’s seventh premiership title in 2008, a record-breaking 40-0 victory over the Melbourne Storm.

In 2009, Hasler coached Manly to a World Club Challenge victory before leading the Sea Eagles to the finals later that season. He backed it up with another finals series in 2010.

The Sea Eagles then won their eighth Premiership title in 2011 under Hasler with a 24-10 victory over the New Zealand Warriors.

As a Sea Eagles player, Hasler played 257 games over 12 seasons for Manly, winning premierships in 1987 and 1996.