With the insecurity of Des Hasler's current position and the possibility of Hasler employing legal action against the Manly Sea Eagles, new details have come to light regarding the rainbow jersey saga.
The emails, obtained by the Daily Telegraph, appear to confirm that the jerseys were signed off months in advance by members of Hasler's own football department – and the head coach was never informed.
The exchange between Manly commercial boss Luke Tucker and the club's general manager of football John Bonasera took place in late May this year.
Tucker specifically checks that “we won't have any issues with any players wearing these jerseys for a one-off game”.
To which Bonasera replied: “Don't see an issue at all mate.”
It's been reported that the lack of communication is unusual given the close working relationship between Bonasera and Hasler.
Though an apology has been given to the head coach by his co-workers, the club only signed off on the jersey because they believed it had the support of everyone in the football department.
When the issue first arose, Hasler claimed that “none of the coaching staff, nor the players had prior knowledge of the jersey,”
“I feel for the players. They weren't included in any of the discussions of the decision making of the jersey – at a minimum they should have been consulted,” he said at the time.
It now appears that the lack of consultation occurred within his own team – but that could still aid Hasler's suggestion that he wasn't a part of the process.
Should it go to court, Hasler is likely to argue that it was the club who compromised his ability to fulfil the contractual performance criteria due to implementing the jersey so poorly and without consultation.
Hasler is currently away on holidays, but it's believed the club is trying to bring the matter to a head by the end of next week, with Anthony Seibold the leading candidate to take the reins.
Should the club and coach somehow come to an amicable agreement that sees Hasler stay for 2023, Seibold is still expected to come on board as an assistant.
The news comes as Hasler faces immense pressure to depart the northern beaches before the next pre-season – a decision that seems to have already been made as the axe lingers over the former club legend, who played 257 games for the club and coached them for over 300, including two premierships.