Hasler puts his hand up to coach Manly again

Premiership-winning coach Des Hasler is putting up his hand to return to the Manly Sea Eagles – the club he took to three grand finals, winning two of them in 2008 and 2011.

NRL.com understands Hasler is one of the coaches the Sea Eagles have been engaged in talks with as they look to find a replacement for Trent Barrett.

Manly chairman Scott Penn confirmed to NRL.com on Saturday that the club expected to make an announcement within the next week.

He would not speculate on Hasler's likelihood, or not, of getting the job.

"I just want to reiterate that we have been through an exhaustive process to ensure our football department has the right structure for 2019," Penn said.

Barrett is contracted until July 2019, after giving 12 months notice three-quarters of the way through 2018 when it became clear Manly were not going to be taking part in the Telstra Premiership finals.

He was signed until the end of 2020 but he complained that promises made to him about facilities and staff had not been kept.

Barrett's exit is still problematic as the club chairman Scott Penn has stated numerous times Manly does not have the funds to buy-out the head coach's contract.

But just as Brisbane fans rejoiced when Wayne Bennett announced he was returning to the Broncos in 2015 after stints with St George Illawarra and Newcastle, Hasler can expect a similar response from the Sea Eagles faithful.

He left in October 2011 barely a fortnight after winning Manly's eighth premiership when talks with Sea Eagles hierarchy back then broke down.

There may still be some Manly faithful not convinced Hasler is the man to help the club return to the glory days, but the 57-year-old is part of the club's success. He took Manly to the finals for seven straight years (2005-2011).

Hasler had similar consistency at the Bulldogs where he coached from 2012-2017, taking them to five consecutive finals series and two grand finals (2012 and 2014).

He has not coached since being sacked by the Belmore club 14 months ago.

Hasler has always harboured the desire to be a NRL head coach again and carries a 59% winning record at Manly with 122 wins from 206 games.

Former South Sydney premiership-winning coach, and now mentor with the Kiwis Test side, Michael Maguire was another coach in discussions with Manly but opted last week not to pursue them any further.

Another former head coach in Geoff Toovey, who took over from Hasler in 2012 and took Manly to the 2013 NRL grand final, says he's interested in returning as well.

The three Manly players in the Kangaroos side currently in New Zealand to play the Kiwis – captain Daly Cherry-Evans, brothers Jake and Tom Trbojevic – have all said they would be happy to have Barrett's assistant John Cartwright as Sea Eagles head coach.

Hasler is reportedly scouting for his coaching entourage and it's not known if this includes Cartwright, who signed a new two-year deal this year.

Manly may need the nous of Hasler to pull them from the depths of despair on the field after a 15th-place finish with just seven wins from 24 rounds in 2018, narrowly avoiding a first ever wooden spoon.