Rugby league is a crazy sport. Just ask Kieran Foran.
“Timing is everything,” Matty Johns said on Sunday night, reflecting on a moment on his Backstage podcast, when Foran came on as a guest two weeks ago.
The legendary Manly five-eighth said that becoming an NRL head coach was “something that I am definitely interested in” — but he also made it clear he was in “no rush”.
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“It looks like high pressure,” Cooper Johns said in jest, to which Foran replied: “You reckon?”
Well, Foran will get a definitive answer — in an almighty rush — after he was appointed interim Sea Eagles coach following the axing of Anthony Seibold.
The news of Seibold’s departure broke on Friday evening. Within hours, Manly powerbrokers informed Foran that they believed he was the best man to take his former boss’s place.
Just last year Foran retired after a storied career, renowned as a tough five-eighth who was never scared to make the big tackles or stick his nose deep into the line.
Quickly he was snapped up as an assistant by Manly, who welcomed back a club legend of 196 games and one premiership, hopeful that a familiar but fresh face could make an impact on the squad.
Little did they know at the time how much of an impact he would have moving forward.
Foran is under no illusions as to the enormity of the task at hand, telling Fox League he was “stunned” that Seibold was sacked after an 0-3 start to the season.
Yet he also made it clear that he is not one to shirk a tough job.
“Look, I’ve never been one to step away from a challenge based on the fear of an outcome or what might be and I know I’m early on in my coaching journey,” Foran said.
“But I love this club. This club’s been wonderful to me throughout the course of my footy career.
“There’s wonderful people involved in it and when they asked me and felt that I should step into this role, that I was the right person for it, I couldn’t say no. It’s a big task.
“It’s a huge, huge job in front of me. But look, I’ve got a great footy team here. There’s a wonderful group of players.”
Seibold was under pressure long before the 2026 season began, finishing 10th in 2025 — and he’d seemingly lost the Brookvale faithful. Chants rang out for the coach to be sacked during their loss to the Roosters on Thursday night.
NRL great Braith Anasta is confident that Foran — once compared in all seriousness to Manly’s own Immortal, Bob Fulton — has the backing of those same fans.
“The appeal to have Kieran in there is a number of things. He’s a club legend, he knows what success looks like in both clubland and international level, and he’s a hard worker,” Anasta told foxsports.com.au.
“He’s got a really high footy IQ, he’s got a great relationship with players because that’s the type of bloke he is and he’s perfect for right now.
“Because he has to come in and try and get the players up, motivate them and just get the best out of the current group that he’s got without looking too for forward.
“So with all those attributes that he’s got, I think right now, you want someone the players will respect and want to play for and live for.
“It’s probably an entirely different sort of take to what Seibold brought because it obviously wasn’t working.”
Anasta hit the nail on the head if Sea Eagles skipper Tom Trbojevic’s comments are anything to go by.
“I think he’s just going to coach the way that he played the 300-and-something games that he did,” Trbojevic said.
“He’s going to give everything he can to being a coach and helping us be the best team we can be.
“Every time he stepped on a footy field, he died for that jersey that he wore. It’s no different when he wore a Manly jersey and it’ll be no different now as a coach.
“He’s the ultimate competitor and he will lead us well.
“I think definitely his greatest attribute was his work ethic and his competitive nature and what he did to win football games.
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Have Manly set up Foran to fail?! | 01:28
“I’m sure he’s stepping into a bit of an unfamiliar role, but that’s just the person he is. He goes after everything and I’m sure he’s going to do a great job for us.”
Backline veteran Reuben Garrick echoed his captain’s sentiment.
“He will definitely lead from the front, he’s always been a leader in his playing days and we’ve already experienced that in the short time he has been a coach here,” GArrick said.
“So I think he will give us every opportunity to play our best for you on the weekend, and he’s a true leader and an ultimate competitor.
“So hopefully he can rub a bit of that into us and we can get out there and play some hard, tough footy for him.”
Adding to the equation is Manly’s appreciation for those who have experience at Brookvale — or Sea Eagles ‘DNA’.
Matt Ballin is one of the frontrunners to take over the head coaching role permanently, in part due to his status as one of the club’s greats; and a premiership teammate of Foran’s.
Geoff Toovey and the legendary Des Hasler are two of the club’s most highly-regarded coaches, as well as being former Sea Eagles captains and premiership players.
Mentors like Trent Barrett and Seibold, who round out Manly’s past four coaches, have not fared as well and have both been ousted after disappointing spells.
“It is a thing, I don’t know if I like that,” Anasta said.
“It’s a thing at the club, but if you make it a thing it becomes a thing and here we are, and every time (they) don’t have someone who is an ex-Manly great or player there you can’t just go, ‘We’re not going to be successful’.
“It’s obviously a problem they’ve got at the club but if it works for them, it works for them.
“That’s another thing: Foran will have the support of all the ex-players, which has been an issue as well, because I hear they haven’t been happy over the last few years.”
So can Foran turn Manly’s fortunes around?
Only time will tell, but central to the club’s evolution will undoubtedly be young gun Joey Walsh, who also was an unwitting figure in Seibold’s axing.
When a team is struggling, throwing a young gun into the mix can be a temptation — one that Seibold was resisting against.
CODE Sports reported that Seibold and chairman Scott Penn disagreed over the development plan for Walsh, with Penn more inclined to see the young playmaker included in the NRL set-up.
Seibold, meanwhile, wanted him to develop in NSW Cup — despite showing glimpses of his pure playmaking talent in small NRL doses thus far.
If anyone knows how tough it is to be a young playmaker in first grade, it’s Foran.
He debuted at the Sea Eagles as an 18-year-old in 2009 and by 2010 he was a consistent spine member, partnering Trent Hodkinson as the two rising stars steered the club into a preliminary final.
In 2011, Hodkinson moved on and was replaced by Daly Cherry-Evans — with Foran and DCE leading Manly to that year’s premiership.
Current halves Jamal Fogarty and Luke Brooks have been under pressure to start the 2026 campaign, with many calling for Walsh to wear the No.6 or No.7.
And Anasta is certain that if anyone knows how to best inject a player like Walsh into a team, it’s Foran.
“It’s great to have Kieran there, he has lived it and breathed it, so he’d be the best mentor for Joey and probably already has been as an assistant,” he said.
“I am a bit split on the ‘too young’ stuff because I debuted at 18 or 19 and probably played my best years. I don’t think age is an issue.
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“If you’ve got talent and you’re the best man for the job, I don’t have a problem with it. I don’t know how ‘Foz’ feels about that.
“But yeah, you look after your players and try give them a rest here or there, but if he’s chomping at the bit and the best option, you play him.
“Even off the bench, I don’t see why you wouldn’t bring him on for 10 or 15 minutes, dip your toes in and then as time goes on, if he earns the right to start, start him.
“I was surprised when they left him out the last months … I think that was the reason why Penn wasn’t happy as well.”
Outside of the Walsh situation, Foran has one simple job — to improve his squad for the remainder of the season.
And there’s another fascinating parallel case: Brad Fittler at the Roosters in 2007.
Chris Anderson was ousted from his post that year after a 56-0 loss to … the Sea Eagles … before inexperienced assistant coach Fittler was named interim boss.
Initial planning was that Fittler would coach from Round 18 onwards to close out the year, hoping to find some sort of spark in a struggling Roosters side.
They found a bolt of lightning.
His side went on an unlikely surge to close out the year, with a highlight 26-16 win against the Storm, who went on to win the competition.
Fittler earned himself a head coaching contract for the 2008 and 2009 seasons, and Anasta was a part of that team who found success under ‘Freddy’.
Players accountable for ‘Harsh’ sacking | 02:19
“When Freddy came in, he ended up coaching for a couple of years … that’s very similar because Freddy was not long retired, had ambitions to coach,” Anasta said.
“We ended up going really good. We ended up making the semis next year and were in a strong position.
“That’s the advantage of having a young coach who knows the modern-day player, but also game and strategies and has a great rapport with the players.”
Fittler led the Roosters to fourth place in 2008, before he was sacked in 2009 after a difficult campaign.
Though the club will almost certainly look elsewhere for a new head coach, Foran’s journey could follow a similar trajectory — but hopefully for Manly fans, without the harsh ending.
While Foran can undoubtedly make an impact on this current crop of players, the one area he can’t exert much influence is the club’s salary cap.
Anasta believes that Manly don’t have any room to make any big-name signings to boost a new coach, with several players on their books earning big pay-packets.
Tom Trbojevic took a pay cut on his fresh extension but still earns near on $1 million, while his brother Jake’s future has been a major talking point.
Throw into the mix off-season recruit Jamal Fogarty, livewire centre Tolu Koula and back-row enforcer Haumole Olakau’atu, and a significant portion of their cap is taken up.
“I think it’s hard because as far as I’m aware, they don’t have any room to move on the salary cap,” Anasta said.
“So he’s not going to go and buy players. For him it’s just about each week, giving there all and trying to get as many wins as he can.
“Coming up with his own strategies and game plans. I’d definitely play Joey Walsh and blood a few young guys that he has been watching on the fringe of first grade.
“Get some fresh faces in, some enthusiasm.”
Elsewhere, there’s one key factor that bodes well for Foran — he’s in a ‘win-win’ situation.
If Manly continue to struggle, that is almost to be expected right. Seibold couldn’t deliver with this current squad.
But if he wins games? He’s a genius.
“He doesn’t have much to lose, that’s the advantage he has got. He is a competitive prick though, so he will want to win,” Anasta said.
“I think he will make that team a better team, make that club a better club in the interim.
“It’s all going to be positive and he has got low expectations, so he’s got nothing to lose as well.
“I think that freedom … I think they will be a hell of a lot of a better team now than what they were.”
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