The turmoil in the NRL coaching ranks has spread from western Sydney and Brisbane to the northern beaches but Manly chief executive Lyall Gorman says he does not believe a reported threat by Trent Barrett to quit the Sea Eagles is related to the vacancy at Penrith.
Barrett’s future is again up in the air despite Manly recording a second successive victory, against Canterbury on Saturday night, improving their chances of avoiding a first-ever wooden spoon.
Not happy: Manly Sea Eagles coach Trent Barrett’s future is up in the air.
The Sea Eagles coach is on contract until the end of 2020 but as it stood on Sunday there was no certainty he would coach them beyond this month.
The reason given for Barrett’s dissatisfaction is the sub-par facilities at the team’s base at North Narrabeen and a lack of support in the club’s football department.
A News Corp report released on the night Manly beat the Bulldogs 18-6 claimed Barrett’s manager, Wayne Beavis, had been instructed to send a legal letter to Gorman expressing his concerns about the level of resources at the Sea Eagles.
It came after a dramatic week in which Anthony Griffin was sacked at Penrith and only hours after Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary had re-affirmed his commitment to the joint venture amid interest from the Panthers about linking up with his old club and son Nathan.
Barrett has been known to be unhappy for some time at Manly and there has been speculation for months that the former assistant to Griffin at Penrith could take over at the Panthers. That scenario, however, has been rubbished publicly by Penrith general manager Phil Gould as recently as 10 days ago.
Gorman was also asked on Sunday whether he thought there was any connection between the report on Barrett’s threat to walk and the job on offer at Penrith, and replied: “I don’t at all”.
The Manly chief, however, could offer no certainty as to whether Barrett would be coaching there beyond this season. He also declined to weigh in on a suggestion aired on Triple M radio that Barrett had already decided last month to quit the club at the end of the season.
Vacancy: The sacking of Anthony Griffin has led to a potential coaching merry-go-round.
“We’re not going to speculate either way. We’re not going to give this energy to continue in the public forum,” Gorman told the Herald.
“If we’ve ever got an announcement to make about an individual to do with our club, we’ll make it at an appropriate time in conjunction with that individual … no matter whether it’s me, Trent, the chairman [Scott Penn], whoever it is.”
Asked whether Barrett would be coaching next season, Gorman said: “I’m not going to run [with] it. If Trent and I ever have anything to say about his future, my future, any player’s future, we’ll make those comments at the right time. Let me tell you right now, [with] three weeks to go … we’re trying to avoid a wooden spoon for our members, our fans, our sponsors. Others are trying to win comps … it’s not the time for that speculation.”
The figure in the middle of all this is Beavis, who represents Barrett, Gould and Griffin. The veteran manager is no longer a registered player agent but maintains a select few other prominent clients in the game.
"Trent has got a contract at Manly and that's it," Beavis said on Sunday.
Asked about the suggestion that Barrett had already determined to leave, he replied: "That's a matter for Manly."
Beavis also insisted there was no link between Barrett's situation at Manly and the position up for grabs at Penrith. Barrett was asked after Saturday night’s game about the reported ultimatum to Manly.
"I can’t confirm that … at this stage,” he said. “You’ll have to ask Lyall. I haven’t been in the office today and I’ve had my phone off so I don’t know."
It is yet another element of an unsettled NRL coaching atmosphere, with Cameron Ciraldo having taken over on an interim basis at Penrith following last week’s sacking of Griffin and Wayne Bennett appearing to be on the outer at Brisbane.
At Souths, meanwhile, Broncos target Anthony Seibold has put off any discussions about his future until the end of the season. He is contracted at the Rabbitohs until the end of 2019.
The stance taken by Barrett is being seen two ways. One is that he is playing with fire, given he has a less-than-flattering 41 per cent winning record as an NRL head coach and if he leaves Manly is at risk of not landing another job. The other school of thought is that the volatility of the NRL coaching scene is such that he would pick up another gig soon enough.
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