Manly downplay Foran exit talk

Manly coach Des Hasler has sought to downplay speculation five-eighth Kieran Foran could be in his final year with the club.

The return of reigning Dally M medallist Tom Trbojevic for today’s NRL home game with Wests Tigers has been overshadowed by reports linking Foran with a move to the Gold Coast Titans.

The retention of the 31-year-old, who is off contract later this year, is a thorny issue for Manly at present.

The manager of rising star Josh Schuster, who has been ruled out of today’s game with a calf complaint, has reportedly reminded the Sea Eagles of a promise he would be moved into a playmaking role after starting his NRL career in the backrow.

Any new deal for Foran would undoubtedly cause Hasler an unwanted headache. Hasler was asked about Foran’s future ahead of today’s clash with the Tigers and said he wouldn’t be entering into public debate about the New Zealand international’s future.

‘‘This isn’t the forum for that discussion,’’ Hasler said bluntly.

Foran has rediscovered his best football since returning to the Sea Eagles in 2021.

Under Hasler’s guidance, last season was the first since he left Manly in 2015 that Foran saw out the year without any injury concerns as the Sea Eagles reached a preliminary final.

After injury-affected spells with Parramatta, the Warriors and Canterbury, Hasler said both Foran and Manly’s high-performance unit (HPU) deserved credit for how the veteran playmaker was able to back up weekly.

‘‘It is a huge wrap to our HPU,’’ he said. ‘‘How we go about managing the players goes a long way to that.

‘‘But it is also I think being settled and being able to focus on your work is good as well.’’

Manly will aim to snap a twogame losing streak when they host the Tigers at Brookvale Oval.

The Sea Eagles have prop Josh Aloiai and backrower Haumole Olakau’atu back available for selection but it is the return of Trbojevic which will undoubtedly act as a catalyst for a turnaround in results.

Trbojevic will line up alongside his brothers Jake (lock) and young centre Ben for the first time at Manly’s home ground, and Hasler is expecting him to hit the ground running.

‘‘He has such a physical presence and he’s such a professional about how he goes about his preparation,’’ he said.

‘‘You’d much rather have him on the field than working in rehab. His transition will be pretty good. Tom does a lot of hard work behind the scenes.’’