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Anthony Seibold’s bid to return to the NRL has received a helping hand from his former boss after Brisbane chair Karl Morris revealed he had provided a character reference to Manly owner and friend Scott Penn.
Morris, who was at the helm of the Broncos during Seibold’s ill-fated stint at the NRL powerhouse, said he would be delighted to see the club’s former coach given another chance as a head coach.
He may get his wish in coming days as Manly prepare to make a call on the future of their coach Des Hasler.
Seibold has been earmarked as his successor, although his move into the top job could be fast-tracked as Sea Eagles officials lock horns with Hasler over the path forward.
Hasler wants to stay until the end of 2024 and then make way for his successor.
Manly powerbrokers insist the changeover has to take place at the end of 2023, with Seibold their preferred option. If the parties fail to find common ground, Seibold may be parachuted in straight away.
“The bloke can coach,” Morris said. “In sport, sometimes it is about timing. When he joined the Broncos, there was a lot of noise around the appointment, at that time we were dealing with Covid, his family stayed behind in Sydney.
“Like most things in life, timing is everything. At that point in time it wasn’t right. I couldn’t be more delighted if he was given a second opportunity.”
Seibold had two years to forget in Brisbane. Taking over from seven-time premiership winner Wayne Bennett in controversial circumstances, he led the Broncos to the finals in his first year but things rapidly soured in the second year as Brisbane finished with the first wooden spoon in their history.
Seibold and the club eventually parted ways but he has slowly rebuilt his reputation working alongside Adam O’Brien in Newcastle and Eddie Jones with the English rugby union side.
Crucially, he is a local on Sydney’s northern beaches and has previously coached at the club – he was an assistant at Manly before joining South Sydney, where he was eventually promoted to the top job and won Dally M coach of the year.
Even when he moved to Brisbane, his family home remained on the northern beaches. Morris confirmed that Penn had reached out to him to gain an insight into Seibold as the Sea Eagles’ completed their due diligence on the man they want to take over from Hasler.
“Scott is a personal friend of mine,” Morris said.
“Why wouldn’t he [reach out to me], as I would ring him if we were looking at a similar thing. I was asked for a character reference in relation to Anthony and that is what I gave.
“I got to know him very well when he was here in Brisbane. I always thought he was a good and decent fella, and he can coach.”
