Anthony Seibold has been urged to make a “hardline” decision on Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans or risk losing his job as the Sea Eagles’ “shambolic” mess was laid bare.

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Fox League’s James Hooper reported on Wednesday night that Seibold asked Cherry-Evans last week if he would consider clearing the air around his playing future publicly.

While Cherry-Evans fronted the media after Manly’s win against Parramatta earlier in the year to explain his decision to leave the club at the end of the season, Hooper said the halfback’s reluctance to tell the full story has “derailed” the Sea Eagles’ 2025 campaign.

It is why Hooper called for Seibold to take a “hardline” stance and appoint club legend Jake Trbojevic as the new captain or risk the season further falling apart.

“I’d say it’s toxic at the moment,” Hooper said on NRL 360.

“As much as he’s been a great servant for Manly, he’s been well-paid at the same time and he’s done them a disservice this year in a way. Their season has completely imploded based on his decision, we’ve never been told the truth, we’ve never been told the real reasoning… it’ll come out at some point, but it has completely derailed and destabilised the Sea Eagles’ season.”

Manly started the season winning three of its first four games, with the only loss coming at the hands of a tough Warriors team in Round 2.

Otherwise, the Sea Eagles were soaring and while injuries up front and to star fullback Tom Trbojevic haven’t helped, they haven’t been the same team since Cherry-Evans went public with his decision.

The Sea Eagles have two home games after the bye and they are winnable ones at that against the Tigers and Rabbitohs.

But Hooper warned that if Manly drop both of them the “drums” will be “beating” for Seibold.

“The other harsh reality is it could well end up costing Anthony Seibold his second coming as an NRL coach because they need to win Friday night against the West Tigers, and they need to back it up again the following week at Brookvale in front of their home crowd against South Sydney,” he said.

“If they suffer two bad losses, I think the drums are beating and I think that Manly may well make a tough decision.”

The Daily Telegraph’s David Riccio, who was adamant from the start that Cherry-Evans should have stood down from State of Origin duties to show his commitment to Manly, said the handling of the situation by both the club and player has been “shambolic”.

“When all this broke in and around DCE’s contract at the time, I was a firm believer that DCE needed to stand down from the Queensland State of Origin team to not only prove to the wider public, but also every single Manly fan that he was invested in trying to win this premiership for the Sea Eagles,” he said.

“Now, he didn’t do that, which is absolutely justifiable on his behalf. We then see him dropped from the Queensland Origin team. His form has never been the same this season ever since the contract saga.

“… The entire situation from day one and until now, with still no clarity around DCE’s future, it’s ridiculous.”