Des Hasler confirmed he would be in charge of Manly's NRL premiership defence in 2012 as he etched his name in Sea Eagles folklore with a second title as coach.
Hasler quashed speculation he would walk away from the club to take up a big-money offer from the Bulldogs in 2012, but his future beyond next season remains in doubt as the Sea Eagles desperately attempt to scramble together a deal to keep him.
They may need to fork out even more now after Hasler matched his two premierships as a Manly player with a brace as coach in Sunday's 24-10 grand final win over the Warriors.
Manly players on mass pledged their loyalty to Hasler, who has developed an innate ability to bring the playing group together in the face of adversity.
He now joins Ron Willey, Frank Stanton and Bob Fulton in having coached the Sea Eagles to two premiership wins.
All four men did so after successful playing stints with the club - backrower Anthony Watmough left in little doubt as to Hasler's standing amongst them saying he's one of the greatest coaches in the game.
But as he remembered Wayne Bennett's unexpected departure from Brisbane in 2008 - two years after guiding the Broncos to a premiership - skipper Jamie Lyon was all too aware how quickly things could change.
