Andrew Johns believes Anthony Seibold still has “something to offer” as Manly coach, despite rumours suggesting he could be on his way out of the club.
Seibold’s tenure has been up and down since arriving at the Sea Eagles, missing the finals in 2023 before being eliminated in the second week of the 2024 playoffs.
This year, a tough injury toll has seen Manly on the cusp of missing the top eight and now the pressure is mounting on Seibold to retain his job.
READ MORE: Cleary fumes as dodgy Grant act robs Panthers
READ MORE: Grant magic leads Storm to victory in golden point epic
READ MORE: Why ‘pear-shaped’ Man United could reignite ‘big four’ battle
Wide World of Sports revealed earlier this week that some of the club’s old boys – led by two-time premiership winner Anthony Watmough – have been pushing for Seibold to be axed and replaced by Matt Ballin for next season.
Maroons assistant coach Matt Ballin QRL
Ballin has been involved on the coaching staff at the Broncos in recent years, while also assisting at the State of Origin level with the Maroons.
A popular former Manly player, the 41-year-old could be the “ideal” replacement should the club look to move on from Seibold – but according to Johns, it might be premature given the extenuating circumstances surrounding the 2025 campaign.
“Geez it’s a funny club – for ages, it has such a political hornets nest,” he said on Wide World of Sports’ Immortal Behaviour.
“I haven’t had anything to do with Matt Ballin as a coach, but he’s the loveliest guy you will ever meet and he is well respected on the northern beaches.
“If they were to change, he’d be the ideal guy – but I still think Anthony Seibold has got something to offer, they’ve had awful injuries in their middle forwards.
Andrew Johns has backed Anthony Seibold to remain as coach Getty/Nine
“[Taniela] Paseka has been out, [Josh] Aloiai has been out, Jakey [Trbojevic] has been in and out, [Haumole] Olakau’atu has missed a fair bit of footy.
“So there are excuses.”
Seibold has spent time at two other NRL clubs as a head coach – South Sydney and Brisbane – but is yet to win a premiership.
Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.
The other issue that Manly have faced this year – and one Johns believes has hurt their on-field performances – has been the looming exit of Daly Cherry-Evans.
The 36-year-old will leave the Sea Eagles at season’s end and is expected to join the Roosters, but at this stage no official announcement has been made.
Daly Cherry-Evans Getty
“It’s been a circus since that’s happened,” Johns said.
“They won a big game in Melbourne a few weeks ago and they’ve been pretty poor since then. There’s excuses with injuries and stuff like that, but it hasn’t been ideal.
“When are they gonna announce this with Daly? Everyone knows what’s going on and everyone would be happy once it’s organised and then the dominoes start to fall.”
Manly will face the Wests Tigers in a must-win game on Sunday afternoon.
