The 2026 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 77th in the club's history since their entry to the New South Wales Rugby League premiership in 1947. The club celebrated its 80th season recognising the three seasons they played with the North Sydney Bears as the Northern Eagles. Anthony Seibold coached the club for the fourth consecutive year for the first three rounds. Tom Trbojevic took over as captain of the club, taking over from Daly Cherry-Evans following his departure to the Sydney Roosters. Former Manly forward Jason King took over the role of CEO after Tony Mestrov departed the club.Mestrov left after a difficult 2025 season which included negotiations with high-profile players that either failed or faced significant challenges which included the now former captain and halfback Cherry-Evans and fullback Tom Trbojevic. Seibold was sacked on the 27 March 2026, after the team failed to win the first three games of the season at home. In his full three seasons at the club he only took the club to the finals in 2024 with the side finishing in 12th place and 10th place in 2023 and 2025 respectively.
The newly appointed assistant coach and former Manly player and premiership winner, Kieran Foran took over as the interim coach on the 28 March2026. Foran became the permanent head coach of the side on the 2 June 2026, after winning seven of his first nine matches. Once Foran took over as coach fans attributed the change in results to 'Fozball' which has now become a popular way to describe Foran's coaching and the teams playing style. On the week he was appointed coach, 4 Pines Brewing Company decided to rename '4 Pines Park' (the sponsored name for Brookvale Oval) as 'Foz Pines Park' and a local KFC at Manly Vale temporarily replaced Colonel Sanders head with Foran's head. Foran promoted Jake Trbojevic to co-captain with brother Tom Trbojevic after successfully captaining whilst Tom Trbojevic was injured. After a great start to Manly's premiership campaign under Foran, Manly encountered an unexpected slump of 6 straight losses, resulting in the team fumbling out of the top eight to finish the season in 9th place, just shy of a return to the finals for the first time since 2024.
2026 squad
Transfers GainsPlayerClubUntilSourcePaul Bryan (Gained mid-2025) Newcastle Knights2026Zach Dockar-Clay Sydney Roosters2026Jamal Fogarty Canberra Raiders2028Kobe Hetherington Brisbane Broncos2029Blake Wilson Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs2027 LossesPlayerClubUntilSourceJosh AloiaiRetiredGordon Chan Kum Tong Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs2027Michael Chee-KamRetiredDaly Cherry-Evans Sydney Roosters2027Aitasi James North Sydney Bears (NSW Cup)Dean Matterson Racing Club Albi XIII (Super XIII)2026Chris Patolo Huddersfield Giants (Super League)2027Toafofoa Sipley Warrington Wolves (Super League)2027Tommy Talau Sydney Roosters2026Jazz Tevaga Wakefield Trinity (Super League)2027Ray Vaega North Sydney Bears (NSW Cup)2026
Results
Pre-Season Challenge Source: +DateRoundOpponentVenueScoreTriesGoalsField GoalsRefereeAttendance7 Feb1ByeSat 14 Feb 1:40pm (3:40pm NZDT)2New Zealand WarriorsMcLean Park33 - 18H. Hart (2), P. Bryan, C. Faulalo, B. Wilson, Z. MuagututiaB. Wakeham (4/6)J. Walsh (1/1)Ashley Klein13,575Sun 22 Feb 4:00pm3South Sydney RabbitohsGlen Willow Oval30 - 6C. FaulaloC. FaulaloTodd Smith5,742
Regular season Source: DateRoundOpponentVenueScoreTriesGoalsField GoalsRefereeAttendanceSat 7 Mar 7:30pm1Canberra RaidersBrookvale Oval29 - 28T. Trbojevic, H. Olakau'atu, T. Koula, J. FogartyJ. Fogarty (5/5), R. Garrick (1/1)Liam Kennedy17,253Sun 15 Mar 4:05pm2Newcastle KnightsBrookvale Oval16 - 36J. Fogarty, T. Trbojevic, H. Olakau'atu, J. Fogarty (2/3)Todd Smith17,10719 - 22 Mar3ByeThu 26 Mar 8:00pm4Sydney RoostersBrookvale Oval16 - 33T. Trbojevic (2), T. KoulaJ. Fogarty (2/3)Wyatt Raymond16,082Thu 2 April 8:00pm5DolphinsKayo Stadium52 - 18L. Hopoate (2), T. Trbojevic, R. Garrick, L. Brooks, H. Olakau'atu, T. Koula, B. Trbojevic, C. WaddellJ. Fogarty (8/11)Grant Atkins10,023Fri 10 April 6:00pm6St. George Illawarra DragonsWIN Stadium28 - 18R. Garrick (2), T. Trbojevic, K. Hetherington, L. HopoateJ. FogartyAdam Gee11,381Thu 16 April 7:50pm7North Queensland CowboysQLD Country Bank Stadium6 - 38L. Hopoate (2), B. Trbojevic, B. Wakeham, T. Paseka, L. Brooks J. Fogarty (7/8)Gerard Sutton17,476Sun 26 April 4:05pm8Parramatta EelsBrookvale Oval33 - 18J. Trbojevic, L. Hopoate, R. Garrick, J. Fogarty, J. Saab, C. Faulalo J. Fogarty (4/6)J. FogartyPeter Gough17,329Sun 3 May 6:15pm9Penrith PanthersCommbank Stadium18 - 16C. Faulalo, E. Bullemor, L. HopoateR. Garrick (2/3)Wyatt Raymond14,960Sat 9 May 7:30pm10Brisbane BroncosBrookvale Oval32 - 4J. Walsh, L. Hopoate, S. Taukeiaho, T. Koula, R. GarrickR. Garrick (6/7)Gerard Sutton17,269Sat 16 May 3:00pm11Wests TigersSuncorp Stadium46 - 18J. Saab (3), L. Hopoate, C. Faulalo, H. Olakau'atu, T. PasekaR. Garrick (7/8)Grant Atkins49,602Sat 23 May 7:30pm12Gold Coast TitansBrookvale Oval12 - 10B. Wilson, C. FaulaloR. Garrick (2/3)Gerard Sutton13,173Fri 29 May 8:00pm13Cronulla-Sutherland SharksOcean Protect Stadium28 - 22C. Faulalo, B. Trbojevic, J. Saab, J. FogartyR. Garrick(3/4)Todd Smith10,793Thu 4 June 8:00pm14South Sydney RabbitohsBrookvale Oval28 - 14J. Saab (2), L. Hopoate, C. Faulalo, B.TrbojevicR. Garrick (4/5)Adam Gee15,45111 - 14 June15ByeSat 20 June 7:30pm16Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsAccor Stadium13 - 12L. Hopoate (2), R. GarrickR. Garrick (0/1), J. Fogarty (0/2)Adam Gee18,243Sat 27 June 7:30pm17Melbourne StormBrookvale Oval30 - 4H. Olakau'atu (2), J. Saab, T. Koula, B. TrbojevicJ. Fogarty (4/5)Ashley Klein17,211Sun 5 July 2:00pm18Parramatta EelsCommbank Stadium23 - 14L. Hopoate, J. WalshJ. Fogarty (3/4)Grant Atkins18,778Sun 12 July 4:05pm19North Queensland CowboysBrookvale Oval18 - 19J. Saab (2), L. Hopoate, H. Olakau'atuJ. Fogarty (1/4)Peter Gough16,892Sun 19 July 2:00pm20Gold Coast TitansCbus Super Stadium38 - 32J. Saab (2), T. Trbojevic, H. Olakau'atu, R. Garrick, T. KoulaJ. Fogarty (4/6)Adam Gee15,525Sun 26 July 4:05pm21Cronulla-Sutherland SharksBrookvale Oval12 - 48T. Koula, J. WalshJ. Fogarty (2/2)Grant Atkins17,12630 July - 2 August22ByeSat 8 August 3:00pm (1:00pm AWST)23Melbourne StormHBF Park42 - 20B. Wakeham, T. Koula, B. WilsonJ. Fogarty (4/4)Keiren Irons15,169Fri 14 August 6:00pm24DolphinsBrookvale Oval0 - 22Grant Atkins11,108Sat 22 August 3:00pm25Newcastle KnightsMcDonald Jones Stadium44 - 24J. Feledy (3), C. Faulalo, C. Navale, R. Garrick, J. Saab, L. HopoateJ. Fogarty (7/9)Wyatt Raymond24,537Fri 28 August 6:00pm26St. George Illawarra DragonsBrookvale Oval44 - 10L. Hopoate (2), J. Saab (2), R. Garrick, T. Trbojevic, J. Feledy, C. Faulalo, H. Olakau'atuJ. Fogarty (4/9)Nick Pelgrave13,597Sat 5 September 3:00pm (5:00pm NZST)27New Zealand WarriorsGo Media Stadium31 - 30R. Garrick (2), L. Hopoate (2), J. FeledyJ. Fogarty (5/5)Gerard Sutton
Representative Players
Clayton Faulalo ( Samoa) Josh Feledy ( Papua New Guinea) Jamal Fogarty ( Indigenous All Stars, Australia Prime Minister's XIII) Lehi Hopoate ( Tonga) Toluta'u Koula ( New South Wales, Tonga) Onitoni Large ( New South Wales Under 19s) Kylan Mafoa ( Fiji) Caleb Navale ( Fiji) Haumole Olakau'atu ( New South Wales, Tonga) Taniela Paseka ( Tonga) Jason Saab ( Lebanon) Tom Trbojevic ( Australia) Brandon Wakeham ( Fiji)
References