Manly Sea Eagles have table a new offer to an assistant coach to keep him on the club’s coaching staff

The Manly Sea Eagles have reportedly tabled a new offer to an assistant to keep him on the club’s coaching staff for the 2026 NRL season.

With captain Daly Cherry-Evans confirmed to be departing at the end of this season, the rumour mill has been humming that coach Anthony Seibold may follow him out the door after under-performing this season and in recent years.

All but certain to miss the NRL Finals series, Seibold is set to earn a reprieve and will remain on as head coach after The Daily Telegraph has reported that the club have tabled a 12-month extension to Michael Ennis to keep him on as an assistant coach.

A former NRL dummy-half and current analyst for Fox Sports, Ennis was seen as the leading candidate to replace Seibold in the head coaching role.

So, the extension is the first sign of evidence that the Sea Eagles coach will stay on in his current role.

The aim to retain the former NRL hooker as a specialist coach comes at the same time that Manly Sea Eagles Chairman Scott Penn confirmed that Anthony Seibold – contracted until the end of 2027 – will remain on as head coach next season.

“Absolutely (he will),” Penn told foxsports.com.au.

“He’s a master student of the game. He’s got a phenomenal understanding of the game and a phenomenal support crew who back him.

“It’s tough for anyone to go through what we’ve gone through this season. I’ve been here 20 years now and it’s one of the toughest I’ve been involved in.

“There’s no sugar coating it; it’s been one of the worst with so many different things – and a lot of them have come at the worst possible time.

“We won three of the first four and everything was looking great. But that’s footy. We’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got. Everyone is trying their guts out.

“Seibs, (chief executive) Tony (Mestrov) and I are all in alignment and in constant dialogue, not only about how we can finish this year as strong as possible, but some of the tweaks we can make for ’26 to come out of the blocks strong. That’s what it’s all about.

“There’s no drama behind the scenes.”