Hasler: 'I have a desire to coach in the NRL again'
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Two-time premiership winning coach Des Hasler says he wants to to coach in the NRL again and the Manly Sea Eagles vacancy gives him that chance.
Hasler held a three-hour "catch-up" meeting with his manager George Mimis in Sydney on Monday after arriving back in Australia on Sunday from a holiday.
But while the desire is there to once again lead the Sea Eagles to success - he was head coach for the 2008 and 2011 premiership wins - Hasler says there is still much discussion to come before he replaces Trent Barrett at the Brookvale club.
"I haven't signed any deal. I've just arrived back from overseas," Hasler told reporters on Monday.
"Obviously I have a desire, or I would like to coach in the NRL again. And that's the chance this offers me.
"Basically it was just a matter of being briefed [by Mimis] and catching up about the possibility – the possibility – of coaching at Manly again."
Sea Eagles' top five tries of 2018
Manly chairman Scott Penn is in New York but will arrive home later this week. CEO Lyall Gorman has also been in discussion with Hasler's management over the past week.
Earlier, New Zealand high performance manager Don Singe told NRL.com he also wanted to return to the rugby league and is hoping he can once again link with 57-year-old Hasler.
Singe worked with Sea Eagles during the reigns of Hasler and Geoff Toovey, when Manly played in four grand finals, claiming the two NRL titles.
He followed Hasler to the Bulldogs in 2016 but left after two years and spent 2018 working for the online health and nutrition coaching college, Cadence Health.
Singe says he hasn't been approached from either Hasler or Manly as yet, but he was "definitely interested in resuming and growing my career at Manly".
"My time away from the NRL has been very positive in particular my growth as an educator through Cadence Health," Singe said.
"The NZ Test matches this year kept my wits sharp and I have missed my connection with driving and influencing athletes to perform. I have missed the intensity and demands of hour by hour, day by day and week by week [in the NRL]."
Singe was on Michael Maguire's staff for the England match in Denver in June and last Saturday's win over the Kangaroos in Auckland (26-24). Maguire has allowed Singe to bypass the three-Test series in the UK so he can concentrate on locking down an NRL job.
Among several issues that Hasler needs to discuss, besides the length and value of a new contract, is his football department staff. He and Singe were a formidable partnership for eight seasons at Manly.
"Des knows process, is innovative, and encourages you to explore and learn. He then expects application and evidence of progression," Singe told NRL.com, when asked if he would like to work with Hasler again.
"If he believes you are pursuing a line of interest for the team he will back you 100 percent. He doesn't mind giving you a rocket but he is happy to move on once the problem is identified, rectified and understood.
"He's a very direct communicator and I love that."
Singe has made unsuccessful applications to the Cowboys and Titans to return to the NRL for the 2019 Telstra Premiership season.
"It was always my intention to rejoin the NRL this year. If I went to England that would not be conducive to building a solid pre-season."
Singe left Manly at the end of the 2015 season, when a clean-out of staff preceded Barrett's arrival with assistant coach John Cartwright.
"Manly treated me very respectfully through that process and I was made redundant. There is no bad blood there," Singe said on Monday.
Cartwright is another on the list of candidates for Barrett's job. But his future is also up in the air, even though he and Barrett's other assistant coach Chad Randall signed two-year extensions a couple of months ago.
Maguire was also in Manly's sights but he pulled out of negotiations a fortnight ago.
Brisbane Broncos assistant coach Jason Demetriou is also in the running for the Sea Eagles coaching role.
