Manly Sea Eagles coach Kieran Foran has revealed he wasn't too sure what Fozball was shortly after it started surfacing following his coaching appointment.
The Sea Eagles legend was thrust into the coaching role following the sacking of Anthony Seibold in March. It came following his retirement at the end of last year, and after three NRL games of rest, he was thrown into the interim head coaching role.
Since then, Manly have won seven from nine and are comfortably sitting in the Top 8, and Foran being upgraded with a three-year deal on Tuesday for how he has turned around his side.
"I'm not sure what Fozball is," Foran told SEN Breakfast on Wednesday morning.
"As a player I wanted to play the game hard, use my brain and pull apart the opposition and work hard defensively. I suppose my coaching style isn't too dissimilar to that.
"I want the boys to use their footy brains, back themselves and invest in all areas of the game. They're doing a really good job of that, it's been an enjoyable nine weeks. We know a season is a marathon and it will get tougher as we go on.
"It has come quickly but I've jumped straight into it since coming back to Manly. I've worked as hard as I could. They moved on Anthony and asked me to step in. Since taking over I've done the best I can and I've loved it, it's been a great challenge. I am just really grateful and honoured that the club has seen the potential in me and backed me from the start.
"Everything that comes with coaching; league has given me so much, I cant imagine a life without league in it. That's how much it means. Also the opportunity to help people in a position I was 15-20 years ago looking to fulfil their dream. Now I can have an impact on their journeys. It lights the fire, trying to win a premiership.
"I've always looked at great coaches in the game and thought it's what I would love to do after my playing day, being I that box taking a team to a premiership would be the ultimate dream.
"I learn something different every day. There's no doubt I have plenty of tough lessons and steep learning curves coming along the way and that why you surround yourself with a quality team to help you in your shortfalls. When I trip up and make mistakes I'll get up and get on with it."
The club is so thrilled with Foran's appointment that Brookvale Oval's naming rights sponsor and local Northern Beaches fans, 4 Pines Brewing Co., will temporarily rename 4 Pines Park to celebrate the club's achievement.
The ground will be renamed 'Foz Pines Park' on Thursday when the Sea Eagles host the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Foran joined the Sea Eagles camp as assistant coach the day after he played his final professional game for the New Zealand Kiwis in the Pacific Championships final.
All offseason, he and Seibold worked together to have the side ready for Round 1, but it didn't pan out that way.
"For me it felt fine – I had come back as assistant coach," he continued.
"From my point of view, we were in reasonable shape to start the season but we couldn't get out of the blocks.
"We weren't playing bad footy. I was fresh back to the club, I hadn't been here in the prior years, I had a fresh set of eyes."
Foran commenced media opportunities with Fox League while balancing his assistant coaching duties, and until Seibold was sacked, he was part of their coverage for the 2026 season.
He eventually had to drop out of his media commitments following conversations with chairman Scott Penn that he was going to be the interim coach following Seibold's sacking after Round 3.
Round 5 came around after their bye, the team travelled to Redcliffe to face the Dolphins and scorched the expansion side with a 52-18 shellacking, thus creating the Fozball legacy.
"At the end of the day the club had made the decision to move Anthony on and it wasn't until I left Fox that day that I had more in-depth conversations about stepping in," Foran recounts.
"Initially I was surprised that they wanted me to do it given I had just retired six months prior but they felt like I was the right man to step into that role. From the start they said they would support me and give me everything to make it succeed.
"It's a unique situation but at the end of the day, there hasn't been a challenge in my life I haven't backed myself in. This is no different. I love rugby league, it's been my life."
Despite a courageous two-point loss to the Panthers in Round 9, and falling short to Cronulla last week during the Origin-affected period, the Sea Eagles are shaping up to be well in the mix for the Top 4 come September.
