Kieran Foran wandered onto 4 Pines Park at 10.30am on Sunday and laid out the plastic cones and poles for training, just like he would have last week when he was still an assistant coach.
It seems old habits die hard.
The New Zealand international, who only ended his playing career at the end of 2025, had become a household name on the same patch of turf on Sydneyโs northern beaches earlier in his career before returning late last year to begin his journey as a coach as part of Anthony Seiboldโs Sea Eagles staff.
Four months later, after Seibold was sacked, he is now in charge.
Foranโs meteoric rise to NRL head coach was confirmed when he accepted the Manly job on an interim basis in a phone call from Sea Eagles chairman Scott Penn and chief executive Jason King on Friday night.
He was rolled out for the cameras on Saturday morning alongside Penn and King, and another 24 hours later, it was time to get down to business at Manlyโs traditional home.
Foran and assistant coach Jim Dymock were locked in a lengthy conversation in the middle of the formerly named Brookvale Oval for about 30 minutes before the players arrived at the tunnel at the northern end of the ground to join them.
โNot everyone is here. Do you want us to come out or do you want us to wait and come out all together,โ veteran forward Jake Trbojevic yelled.
When the full squad made their way onto the field soon after, they were in high spirits on a warm, bright day, their unwanted 0-3 record set aside.
It was the third of those defeats, against Foranโs former halves partner Daly Cherry-Evans and his Sydney Roosters last Thursday night, that sealed Seiboldโs fate, the coach sent on his way only three matches into a two-year contract extension.
Foranโs unlikely promotion is a fresh start for Manly, but the road ahead will not be easy.
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
