There's something almost theatrical about a coach under siege choosing to stand closer to the fire.
While the boardroom clouds gather overhead to determine Shane Flanagan's role at the club, he planted himself on the grass at WIN Stadium Friday night, not upstairs behind glass, not tucked away in the coach's box with a headset.
Standing next to general manager Ben Haran, watching his team bleed through a 10th consecutive loss.
After a 16-0 Manly run in the first 20 minutes of the game, Flanagan's men clawed their way back.
They led 18-16 early in the second half before a collapse in the second half saw the final score 28-18 with new coach Kieran Foran grabbing his second win as Manly's coach.
Flanagan saw something in this version of the Dragons side after being held scoreless in round 5, however, admitting that they're not maximising their opportunities.
"It was definitely an improvement," Flanagan said in his post-game press conference.
"We competed really hard and if a few things would have gone our way, we scrape home for a win. There was an opportunity for us to score a try just before half time and we fumbled it. There was an opportunity Luch [Luciano Leilua] kicked the ball - if it sits up we score or if he passes it we score.
"We had our opportunities and I think because the confidence is probably low, those types of things don't go your way.
"I thought attitude and effort was there, but execution we were probably down a touch."
Then came the question that cut to the heart of the evening's real subtext: why the sideline?
His answer was blunt, almost defiant.
"I don't wanna hide in the coach's box," he revealed.
"I'm here to fight, I'm here to win and I'm on the sideline with the team fighting.
"I didn't wanna hide in the coach's box and have cameras going up there - they could have got me for 80 minutes [on the sideline] if they wanted."
On personnel, Flanagan was pragmatic to a fault, and sees the roster for what it is.
However, his response infers a similiar lineup will be named again when they play the South Sydney Rabbitohs
"The issue is with most NRL clubs, what are we gonna replace them with? I've got 28 out of our top 30 signed, we've got some injuries," Flanagan said.
"There's not someone sitting there where I'm like 'jump in there' so it's a tricky one. If I had someone better out of the side, I would put them in, trust me."
With the halves, Shane backed his son Kyle and new signing Daniel Atkinson, placing the blame for the loss further down the chain.
"They created moments - we created enough opportunities, we just didn't finish them which has been our story through the year," he stated.
No Flanno should not be sacked… he is not the one out there playing the game. He can only give them a game plan Wether the players execute that plan. Maybe it is time for the players to step up and take accountability.