# 2023 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles season

The 2023 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 74th in the club's history since their entry to the New South Wales Rugby League premiership in 1947. The coach was Anthony Seibold taking over from Des Hasler. Daly Cherry-Evans captained the club for the seventh consecutive year. The Sea Eagles won the inaugural pre-season challenge.

## Des Hasler Situation

As a result of not making the finals in 2022, a requirement under Des Hasler's contract, his contract would not able to automatically extend to the end of 2024. Initially the situation started out with a change in assistant coaches with Chad Randall and Michael Monaghan leaving the club. It upset Hasler, but after meetings everything was reported that everyone was happy before reports came out that Hasler would coach the club until the end of 2024, with a succession plan in place, which put the club in unrest.
A month later in October 2022, Des Hasler announced he threatened to sue Manly over the Manly pride jersey player boycott, as he believed that it derailed the season as a result of how there was little communication given between the playing group, coaching staff and the management about what was going on. By then Manly powerbrokers already identified Anthony Seibold as a potential successor to Hasler, with Hasler identifying Josh Hannay as his preferred successor. Emails were also leaked between Manly officials involving the pride jersey. It was then reported that if he is to coach Manly in 2023, he would have no say in recruitment/retention, accept Seibold as his successor and accept that 2023 would be his last year.
On the 13th of October 2022, Hasler was sacked from the club. On the 8th of November 2022, Seibold was officially announced as the head coach for the Sea Eagles.

## Transfers

Gains :
| Player | Club | Until |
| Jake Arthur (gained mid-season) | Parramatta Eels | 2024 |
| Ben Condon | North QLD Cowboys | 2025 |
| Austin Dias | Wests Tigers | TBC |
| Cooper Johns | Melbourne Storm | 2023 |
| Matthew Lodge (gained mid-season) | Sydney Roosters | 2023 |
| Kelma Tuilagi | Wests Tigers | 2025 |
| Aaron Woods (gained mid-season) | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 2023 |
Losses :
| Player | Club | Until |
| Andrew Davey | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2024 |
| Sione Fainu (left mid 2022) | Wests Tigers | 2024 |
| Kieran Foran | Gold Coast Titans | 2024 |
| Jorge Taufua (left mid 2022) | Wakefield Trinity | 2023 |
| Martin Taupau | Brisbane Broncos | 2023 |
| Dylan Walker | New Zealand Warriors | 2025 |
Re-Signed: Josh Aloiai (2025), Daly Cherry-Evans (2025), Toluta'u Koula (2024), Karl Lawton (2024), Ben Trbojevic (2024), Kaeo Weekes (2023)

## Results

2023 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Penrith Panthers (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 645 | 312 | +333 | 42 |
| 2 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 639 | 425 | +214 | 42 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 627 | 459 | +168 | 38 |
| 4 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 572 | 448 | +124 | 38 |
| 5 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 626 | 451 | +175 | 35 |
| 6 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 619 | 497 | +122 | 34 |
| 7 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 472 | 496 | −24 | 32 |
| 8 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 486 | 623 | −137 | 32 |
| 9 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 564 | 505 | +59 | 30 |
| 10 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 587 | 574 | +13 | 30 |
| 11 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 546 | 542 | +4 | 30 |
| 12 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 545 | 539 | +6 | 29 |
| 13 | Dolphins | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 520 | 631 | −111 | 24 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 527 | 653 | −126 | 24 |
| 15 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 438 | 769 | −331 | 20 |
| 16 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 474 | 673 | −199 | 16 |
| 17 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 385 | 675 | −290 | 14 |
Pre-Season Challenge
Source:
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Referee | Attendance |
| Fri 10 Feb 8:00pm | 1 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Central Coast Stadium | 30-28 | R. Vaega (2), J. Toby (2), Z. Fulton, C. Brown | C. Johns (3/6) | | Todd Smith | 9,807 |
| Fri 17 Feb 8:00pm | 2 | Sydney Roosters | Central Coast Stadium | 16-28 | R. Garrick (3), K. Tuilagi, T. Koula | R. Garrick (4/6) | | Chris Butler | 10,744 |
Regular Season
Source:
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Referee | Attendance |
| Sat 4 March 3:00pm | 1 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Brookvale Oval | 31-6 | D. Cherry-Evans (3), T. Trbojevic, R. Garrick | R. Garrick (5/5) | D. Cherry-Evans (1/1) | Grant Atkins | 17,278 |
| 9-12 March | 2 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| Thu 16 March 7:50pm | 3 | Parramatta Eels | Brookvale Oval | 34-30 | T. Trbojevic (2), H. Olakau'atu (2), R. Garrick, B. Parker | R. Garrick (4/6) | | Adam Gee | 13,353 |
| Sat 25 March 7:35pm | 4 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Accor Stadium | 13-12 | H. Olakau'atu, D. Cherry-Evans | R. Garrick (2/2) | | Chris Sutton | 18,379 |
| Sat 1 April 3:00pm | 5 | Newcastle Knights | Glen Willow Regional Sports Stadium | 32-32 | H. Olakau'atu, C. Tuipulotu, B. Parker, K. Tuilagi, K. Weekes, R. Garrick | R. Garrick (4/6) | | Chris Butler | 9,024 |
| Sat 8 April 5:30pm | 6 | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Stadium | 44-12 | J. Saab, T. Trbojevic | D. Cherry-Evans (2/2) | | Todd Smith | 20,312 |
| Fri 14 April 8:00pm | 7 | Melbourne Storm | Brookvale Oval | 18-8 | T. Trbojevic, L. Croker | D. Cherry-Evans (5/6) | | Adam Gee | 13,572 |
| Sun 23 April 4:05pm | 8 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Stadium | 16-22 | D. Cherry-Evans, H. Olakau'atu, J. Saab | R. Garrick (3/3) | | Todd Smith | 10,033 |
| Sat 29 April 5:30pm | 9 | Gold Coast Titans | Brookvale Oval | 10-26 | S. Keppie | R. Garrick (3/3) | | Ben Cummins | 10,107 |
| Fri 5 May 8:05pm | 10 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 6-32 | B. Trbojevic | R. Garrick (1/1) | | Gerard Sutton | 50,077 |
| Sun 14 May 4:05pm | 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Brookvale Oval | 14-20 | R. Garrick, L. Croker | R. Garrick (3/3) | | Ashley Klein | 10,358 |
| Sun 21 May 4:05pm | 12 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium | 16-42 | T. Trbojevic (3), B. Parker, R. Garrick, J. Schuster, J. Saab, B. Condon | R. Garrick (5/8) | | Gerard Sutton | 14,730 |
| Sun 28 May 4:05pm | 13 | Newcastle Knights | McDonald Jones Stadium | 28-18 | R. Garrick, L. Croker, J. Saab | R. Garrick (3/4) | | Peter Gough | 20,661 |
| 2-4 June | 14 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| Fri 9 June 8:00pm | 15 | Dolphins | Brookvale Oval | 58-18 | R. Garrick (3), J. Saab (2), T. Trbojevic (2), T. Koula (2), L. Croker | R. Garrick (9/10) | | Gerard Sutton | 14,598 |
| Sat 17 June 5:30pm | 16 | Parramatta Eels | Commbank Stadium | 34-4 | C. Tuipulotu | R. Garrick (0/1) | | Chris Butler | 21,296 |
| Sat 24 June 7:35pm | 17 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park | 24-6 | H. Olakau'atu | R. Garrick (1/1) | | Todd Smith | 13,198 |
| Sun 2 July 4:05pm | 18 | Sydney Roosters | Brookvale Oval | 18-16 | D. Cherry-Evans (2), B. Trbojevic | R. Garrick (3/3) | | Ben Cummins | 17,385 |
| 6-9 July | 19 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| Sat 15 July 5:30pm | 20 | North Queensland Cowboys | Brookvale Oval | 8-19 | D. Matterson, B. Parker | D. Cherry-Evans (0/1),R. Garrick (0/1) | | Adam Gee | 13,240 |
| Sun 23 July 4:05pm | 21 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Shark Park | 26-30 | T. Koula (2), J. Aloiai, L. Croker, H. Olakau'atu, R. Garrick | R. Garrick (3/6) | | Peter Gough | 10,634 |
| Sat 29 July 5:30pm | 22 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium | 24-18 | T. Koula, H. Olakau'atu, R. Garrick, J. Saab | R. Garrick (3/4) | | Chris Butler | 14,872 |
| Thu 3 August 7:50pm | 23 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Cricket Ground | 26-16 | J. Schuster, B. Parker, T. Koula | R. Garrick (2/4) | | Ashley Klein | 12,197 |
| Thu 10 August 7:50pm | 24 | Penrith Panthers | Brookvale Oval | 12-24 | T. Sipley, R. Garrick | R. Garrick (2/2) | | Gerard Sutton | 10,102 |
| Fri 18 August 6:00pm | 25 | New Zealand Warriors | Go Media Stadium | 29-22 | J. Saab (3), J. Arthur | R. Garrick (3/4) | | Todd Smith | 24,112 |
| Sun 27 August 2:00pm | 26 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Accor Stadium | 24-42 | J. Saab (2), T. Sipley, R. Vaega, H. Olakau'atu, D. Cherry-Evans, L. Croker | D. Cherry-Evans (6/7), G. Chan Kum Tong (1/1) | | Liam Kennedy | 13,074 |
| Fri 1 September 6:00pm | 27 | Wests Tigers | Brookvale Oval | 54-12 | T. Koula (2), J. Saab, E. Bullemor, H. Olakau'atu, J. Trbojevic, R. Vaega, G. Chan Kum Tong, D. Cherry-Evans | D. Cherry-Evans (7/10) | | Belinda Sharpe | 16,503 |

## Representative Players

* Daly Cherry-Evans ( Queensland, Prime Minister's XIII, Australia)
* Gordon Chan Kum Tong ( Samoa)
* Austin Dias ( Māori All Stars)
* Latu Fainu ( New South Wales U19's)
* Samuela Fainu ( New South Wales U19's)
* Morgan Harper ( Māori All Stars)
* Tolu Koula ( Tonga)
* Haumole Olakau'atu ( Tonga)
* Jake Trbojevic ( New South Wales, Prime Minister's XIII, Australia)
* Tom Trbojevic ( New South Wales)

## Milestones

Daly Cherry-Evans played his 300th game for the club against the St. George Illawarra Dragons on the 29th of July 2023. He has played all of his games for the club. For Manly he scored 83 tries, 158 goals and 26 field goals. He was part of the 2011 Grand Final team. He has played in nine series for Queensland in state of origin, being the captain in 2019. He has made 18 appearances for the Kangaroos and played in both the 2013 and 2021 world cups. He also played for Australia at the 2019 RLWC 9s.
In that same game Lachlan Croker played his 100th game of NRL, playing all but one for the club. Before his 100th he had scored 16 tries and played games across both the hooker and five-eighth positions.
In Round 27 on the final home game for the season Jake Trbojevic played his 200th game for the Sea Eagles against the Wests Tigers playing all of his matches for the club. Before his 200th, he had scored 31 tries for the club. Trbojevic played 16 games for New South Wales in state of origin playing in every series from 2017. He has also made 12 appearances for the Kangaroos which included the 2017 and 2021 world cups.