Anthony Seibold's tenure at the Sea Eagles will struggle to be looked at fondly amongst the Manly faithful with revelations surfacing that the recently sacked coach had a strained relationship with Jake Trbojevic, the heart and soul of the club.
Seibold was given a handful of games before being axed after Manly lost their first three matches to start their 2026 campaign, and all happening at Brookvale.
Trbojevic had a fractured relationship with the head coach, with Triple M's Ben Dobbin saying that the lack of communication was a contribution to his demise on the peninsula.
"Jake Trbojevic— I'm going to name him — he's been treated poorly. He's a club leader," Dobbin said on Triple M's Sunday Sin Bin.
"Jake Trbojevic is a leader and that club is void of leadership. Jake and Tom are the two leaders."
Dobbin expressed similarities between Seibold's reign at the Broncos, where he moved long-term club legend and skipper Darius Boyd from the fullback position to centre.
It subsequently led to him losing the dressing room and eventually sacked from the position at Red Hill.
In what can be described as a communication breakdown, Dobbin added Trbojevic was concerned with Seibold's game plans and their effectiveness.
"Jake Trbojevic has fronted Seibold, not agreed with the game plan, and said it's absolutely been over played," Dobbin said.
"These are the same issues that happened at Brisbane."
The fractured relationship between the pair was at its most evident when Jake was overlooked as club captain for younger brother Tom.
Despite captaining the NSW Blues to a historic series win in 2024, which included winning a decider at Suncorp, Jake didn't get the nod.
"I'll give you an example," Dobbin added.
"Tom was told that he was going to be the captain this year, and rightly so because he's on the field more. Jake Trbojevic, at the end of last season, was captaining the side.
"He's also the former New South Wales captain. Tom told Jake he's not going to be the captain this year. You would think that (Seibold would tell that to Jake).
"It's about communication. That falling out with Jake Trbojevic has been one of the huge issues."
Manly are every chance of getting their season back on track with interim coach Kieran Foran taking over the helm.
What the Sea Eagles need right now is a coach who will get them to run through a brick wall and fight in the contest for each other.
Long-term club legend, plus a former teammate to many in the side, Foran can get the Sea Eagles humming in that respect.
Their attention is now turned to facing the Dolphins in Redcliffe on Thursday night.
