Des Hasler

Penrith junior was one of the fittest, most whole-hearted players in the history of the Manly club. A clever, hard-working halfback, Hasler's career stalled at Penrith through lack of opportunity and he considered retirement to concentrate on a career as a professional runner. A teacher, he was working on the North Shore when he decided to trial with Manly in 1984 (one of the boys in his class happened to be the son of Bob Fulton). His league career quickly took off and, in 1985, he made his Test debut against NZ in Australia's shock Third Test loss. It was his utility value that gained him a place on the 1986 and 1990 Kangaroo tours, playing half, five-eighth, centre and lock. A member of Manly's grand final team that beat Canberra in 1987, Hasler took over from Greg Alexander as the number one halfback in the final two Tests on the Australian tour of NZ in 1989. Hasler played against NZ in 1991 (again as a reserve) and his 12 Test appearances against all nations reflects his immense value at national level. In 1993 he left Manly to play for Hull in England but returned to Australia midway through the following season and was promptly re-signed by the Sea Eagles. He was first used as a hooker after his return and played in two grand final appearances with the club in 1995-96. He was not offered a new contract after Manly’s win over St George in the 1996 grand final and feeling that he still had something to offer, played one final season with Wests. After his retirement, Hasler again linked with the Manly club as a development officer before taking on the role of First Division coach in 2001. In 2004 he succeeded Peter Sharp as first grade coach and took the club back into the finals in consecutive seasons (2005-06). Interestingly Hasler's 1993 biography, The Utility Player, was written by Booker Prize-winning author Thomas Keneally.