Manly Warringah Coach Trent Barrett is hoping the experience Anthony Seibold gained from working under Craig Bellamy will pay dividends in 2016.
Seibold joins John Cartwright as one of the two new NRL Assistant Coaches at the Sea Eagles, having joined the club from the Melbourne Storm.
A former NRL and English Super League player, Seibold spent the past four seasons at the Melbourne Storm. He was the Melbourne Storm Holden Cup Head Coach in 2013, and in more recent seasons, worked as an assistant coach to Craig Bellamy.
Seibold is the current Junior Kangaroos Assistant Coach.
Barrett said Seibold will play a vital role in the team’s defensive structure.
“Anthony is doing the defence. I was very selective in choosing who I wanted to be my assistants and one thing I wanted was for someone to come out of a system that was very strong defensively,’’ Barrett said.
“He has been in the Melbourne system for four years. He is very confident with the contact work and he has got some really good philosophies with what he does.
“Every team that has won the NRL premiership for the past five to 10 years has been the best defensive side, the exception probably being the Wests Tigers in 2005.
“You really need to base your game around your defence. I know we can attack, that won’t be a problem, but we have got to stop them as well. That’s Anthony’s role.”
Seibold said fixing the Manly defence was a major priority.
“In a lot of the key performance indicators for the 2015 season, Manly were in the bottom eight with regards to our defensive actions,’’ he said.
“We need to work really hard on our defence during the pre-season. We have introduced some new systems and new structures that take time to bed in with the players. It has been a very positive start over the past few weeks.”
Seibold said the key to a good defensive side is the mental toughness of the players.
“We need to put the players under some duress during the pre-season, whether that be with repeat effort conditioning or in the first contact,’’ he said.
“Repeat efforts and winning the collisions are the most important parts of our defence.”
Seibold is confident the Sea Eagles will succeed under Barrett.
“Trent’s strength is in his communication skills. He has a very clear vision of where he wants to take the team and the club over the next couple of years,’’ Seibold said.
“It was a big decision for me to leave the Melbourne Storm and working under Craig Bellamy. To see Craig’s work ethic, how he prepares, and how thorough he is, was invaluable.
“But Trent really impressed me with how clear his vision was and the role he wanted me to do here. It is a pleasure to be at the Sea Eagles.”
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