Manly chairman Scott Penn has guaranteed Anthony Seibold — who he described as a “master student of the game” — will be given more time to turn the Sea Eagles into a premiership force.

All but out of the running to make the finals despite a stunning victory over premiership favourites the Storm in Melbourne last month, the Sea Eagles have been licking their wounds before captain Daly Cherry-Evans’ 350th NRL game milestone on Saturday.

Seibold has had to contend with Cherry-Evans announcing early in the season he wouldn’t be renewing his contract on the northern beaches, a crippling injury toll which has robbed him of forwards Haumole Olakau’atu, Taniela Paseka and Josh Aloiai for long periods, Jake Trbojevic’s concussion-interrupted year and brother Tom searching to find his best form.

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The Sea Eagles have crashed to four straight losses since the Storm win, meaning it will be the second time in Seibold’s three years in charge they’ve missed the top eight, barring a mathematical miracle in the last three weeks.

Former NRL Coach of the Year Seibold has already privately indicated to the club he doesn’t want to be a clipboard carrier for the rest of his career, and has interest in transitioning into an executive role. He’s under contract until the end of 2027.

The Sea Eagles have internally discussed Michael Ennis potentially being his successor.

But despite their disappointing campaign so far, Penn has assured Seibold will remain in charge for next season when Raiders No.7 Jamal Fogarty replaces Cherry-Evans in the halves.

“Absolutely (he will),” Penn said. “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.

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“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.”

There’s been speculation about Cherry-Evans’ future from the minute he announced on live television earlier this year he would not be renewing his Manly contract, leaving the door ajar to finish his career elsewhere in the NRL.

The Roosters have been widely speculated as his destination, but neither Cherry-Evans or the club have confirmed an agreement, only saying they’ve held talks.

Former State of Origin captain Jake Trbojevic is the likely candidate to take over the Manly captaincy, but has had a forgettable season, sitting out again this week after suffering his third concussion of the year in the loss to the Raiders.

“It’s been a tough year for Jake with concussions, but we just wrap our arms around Jake and do what it best for him,” Penn said. “Right now, he’s still dealing with some of the consequences of the last concussion. Our sole focus is to get him healthy.

“I sat down with him a couple of weeks ago and he said, ‘no, I’ll be right. No problem’. That’s exactly what we expected from him. He never wants to retire because he loves the game so much.

“From our point of view, we’re not going to be putting any pressure on him. These are decisions he and his family have to make and we’ll back him 100 per cent.”