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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Desmond John Hasler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1961-02-16)16 February 1961 (age 64) Gosford,New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 176 cm (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 79 kg (12 st 6 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Halfback, Lock, Hooker, Five-eighth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 6 September 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Desmond John Hasler[3] (born 16 February 1961) is an Australian professionalrugby league coach and former player, who was most recently the head coach of theGold Coast Titans in theNational Rugby League.
Primarily ahalfback, he initially played for thePenrith Panthers, and then spent most of his playing career with theManly Sea Eagles, with whom he won premierships in 1987 and 1996. Hasler spent a season withHull FC in England, returning to Manly, before finishing his playing career with theWestern Suburbs Magpies. He also played forNSW City, New South Wales in State of Origin andAustralia at international level.
Hasler coached Manly between 2004 and 2011, winning a further two premierships in 2008 and 2011. He coached theCanterbury Bulldogs in theNational Rugby League, before returning to Manly as coach from 2019 until he was sacked at the end of the 2022 season.
Hasler was born inGosford, New South Wales. He played his junior footy atCambridge Park andBrothers Penrith.[4]He attended St Dominic's College, Penrith.
Hasler began his first-grade career with thePenrith Panthers in1982, but quickly transferred to theManly Warringah Sea Eagles. Hasler's contact with Manly came by chance.
After having played only 12 games for the Penrith club in 1982 and1983, Bob Fulton, on the lookout for a halfback due to not being satisfied with the defensive play ofPhil Blake, offered Hasler a trial at Manly and signed him to play for the Sea Eagles in1984.
Hasler made his debut for Australia in the third test of the1985 Trans-Tasman Test series againstNew Zealand atCarlaw Park inAuckland, coming into the team at the expense ofQueensland halfbackMark Murray. Unfortunately his debut was soured with the Kiwis defeating Australia 18–0.
Hasler's value as a utility player led to his frequent selection on the bench in representative football. He played 13State of Origin matches for New South Wales (seven from the bench, three at halfback, two at five-eighth and 1 at lock), scoring two tries during these games. His biography,The Utility Player, was written by prominent Australian author and Manly Warringah fanThomas Keneally and was published in 1993.[5]
Hasler also played in twelvetest andWorld Cup matches for Australia between 1985 and 1991, with his utility value seeing him start nine of those games from the bench.
Des Hasler was twice selected to go on aKangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France, in1986 and1990, respectively. Taken over as the No.2 halfback behind tour vice-captainPeter Sterling in 1986, a broken thumb in the first half of his first game in England againstHull Kingston Rovers atCraven Park would interrupt his tour and see him miss an entire month, playing only eight games on tour and no tests other than againstPapua New Guinea before the team flew on to England. In 1990 he was largely Bob Fulton's utility player with Hasler not only selected on the bench for all threeAshes series tests againstGreat Britain (though no bench players were used in the 2nd test atOld Trafford), but he played a variety of positions on the tour including lock, halfback and even out on the wing.
After the1993 season, Hasler spent the off-season playing forHull F.C. in the English Rugby League Premiership. He later returned to the Manly club for the1995 and1996 ARL seasons. Hasler had a new role for the season playing mostly at hooker. Although starting the 1996 season as the teams hooker, the signing of1994 Kangaroo tour hookerJim Serdaris saw Hasler play most of the season from the bench for the Manly Warringah side. The team had another great year, winning their second straight minor premiership before going on to defeatSt. George 20–8 in the grand final at theSydney Football Stadium, giving Hasler his second and last premiership win as a player.
After 257 games for the Manly club over 12 seasons, Manly did not offer Hasler a contract beyond 1996. Feeling he still had something to offer Hasler then signed with theWestern Suburbs Magpies for the1997 season. He played 21 games for Western Suburbs alternating between halfback, lock, hooker and the bench, before retiring at the end of the season.
In 2004, Des Hasler was appointedhead coach of theManly Sea Eagles. In the2005,2006 and 2007 seasons he led the team to thesemi-finals for the first time since the late 1990s. Hasler gained the experience ofGeoff Toovey as assistant coach in the 2007 season. The team was a contender in the 2007 National Rugby League premiership, and finished second on the NRL ladder, losing the grand final 34–8 to theMelbourne Storm.
He coached Manly to a record-breaking 40–02008 NRL Grand Final victory over the Melbourne Storm.[6]
In 2008, Hasler was named the Rugby League International Federation's Coach of the Year at theRLIF Awards.[7]
After failing to win the1987 World Club Challenge with Manly as a player, he won it with them as coach in 2009.
Hasler took Manly to the finals again in 2009 and 2010, but lost a final in each year to be eliminated from the finals.
He coached his 200th first-grade game on 13 August 2011 when Manly defeated their traditional rivalsParramatta 26–20 atParramatta Stadium. The win was also Hasler's 117th win as a coach.
In 2011, Manly finished second on the NRL ladder. Manly defeatedNorth Queensland 42–8 at theSydney Football Stadium for their first finals win since 2008. Manly went on to win the2011 NRL Grand Final. He was named coach of the year at the RLIF Awards.[8]
A week after leading Manly to the 2011 premiership, Hasler signed to coach theCanterbury Bulldogs in the 2013 season.[9] He initially agreed to continue to coach Manly for the 2012 season, but on 11 November 2011, Manly's board of directors sacked him, alleging "serious breaches" of his contract with rumours rife of the breaches including enticing staff and players to join him at the Bulldogs from 2013. A number of Manly's coaching and administrative employees had announced they would be joining Hasler at Canterbury.[10]
Hasler joined Canterbury on 14 November 2011 as head coach for the2012 NRL season.[11] He had immediate success as he took the club to finish eight places better than the previous season to the top of the ladder and collected the minor premiership. After impressive qualifying final and preliminary final wins, 16–10 over former clubManly Sea Eagles and 32–8 overSouth Sydney Rabbitohs, respectively, the club were beaten in the Grand Final by theMelbourne Storm 14–4.[12] At the2012 Dally M Awards Hasler was named the NRL's coach of the year.[13]
In the2014 NRL season, Hasler led Canterbury to the2014 NRL Grand Final, and lost 30–6 toSouth Sydney atANZ Stadium.
In the 2016 NRL season, Canterbury finished two places lower than the previous season as they finished in seventh place, the same position they managed to reach the Grand Final from two years earlier, but those hopes of a 2014 repeat were crushed in the qualifying elimination final where the Bulldogs after leading 6–4 at half-time but suffered a 28–12 defeat by thePenrith Panthers at the Sydney Football Stadium after which, straight away, Canterbury bowed out of the finals series.
On 19 September 2017, it was announced by theCanterbury Bulldogs that Hasler had been released. On 1 December 2017, it was announced that Hasler was taking Canterbury to court and was seeking $2 million in damages after he was terminated by the club despite signing a two-year contract extension earlier in the season.[14]
On 4 May 2018, Hasler and Canterbury reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum of money. Canterbury issued a statement saying "After a great deal of discussion over the last couple of months, the Bulldogs are pleased to have reached an agreement with Des Hasler. It was important for the club to be able to bring this matter to a close and move forward. Our members and fans deserve that."[15]
On 22 October 2018, Hasler was announced as the new head coach of Manly for the 2019 season.[16]Before the start of the2019 NRL season, many predicted that Manly would finish outside the top 8 and struggle towards the bottom of the table. Throughout the season, though, Manly surprised many critics by spending nearly the entire regular season in the top 8 which included the club defeating Melbourne atAAMI Park 11–10 ingolden point extra-time and also defeating other premiership contenders Canberra twice throughout the year. Hasler eventually guided Manly Warringah to a sixth-place finish as the club qualified for the finals.[17][18]
Hasler guided Manly to the second week of the finals series in 2019 as the club were defeated bySouth Sydney 34–26 in the elimination semi-final atANZ Stadium.[19][20]
In the2020 NRL season, Hasler failed to guide Manly to the finals as they finished a disappointing 13th on the table.The2021 NRL season started in similar fashion with the club losing their opening three games. In round 4, Manly were defeated 46–6 against Penrith atBrookvale Oval; this was Manly's biggest-ever loss at their home ground in their 74-year history. Manly under Hasler then went on to win their next 16 of 21 games to finish in the top 4 and qualify for the finals. Manly went on to reach the preliminary final but were defeated bySouth Sydney.[21]In the2022 NRL season, Manly endured a poor season finishing 11th on the table. On 13 October 2022, Hasler was terminated as Manly head coach.[22]
On 22 June 2023, Hasler was announced as the new head coach of theGold Coast Titans, commencing in 2024.[23]In round 1 of the2024 NRL season, Hasler's reign at the Gold Coast got off to the worst possible start as the club lost 28–4 againstSt. George Illawarra who were tipped by many pundits to finish with thewooden spoon before the season began.[24]Hasler lost his opening six games as Gold Coast head coach before finally earning his first win in charge of the club against the New Zealand Warriors in round 8.[25]In round 16, Hasler guided the Gold Coast to a 66–6 victory over the New Zealand Warriors. It was the clubs biggest-ever victory and the biggest victory of any Gold Coast side since the first one entered the competition back in 1988. The Gold Coast also recorded the biggest victory by a team running last across the 114-year history of top-flight rugby league in Australia.[26]In his first season in charge of the Gold Coast, Hasler took the club to a 14th-placed finish on the table.[27]
In round 21 of the2025 NRL season, Hasler coached his 500th first grade game as the bottom placed Gold Coast side upset New Zealand 24–16.[28] On 25 August 2025, the Gold Coast club announced that Hasler would depart as head coach at the end of the season despite being under contract until the following season, the club then announced thatJosh Hannay would be taking over as head coach from 2026.[29] In Hasler's final game as coach of the Gold Coast, the club won their final match of the2025 NRL season against theWests Tigers, which ultimately resulted in Gold Coast narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon on for and against.[30] Despite media speculation that Hasler would retire following the end of his tenure at the Gold Coast, Hasler refuted these claims, stating he would head back down toSydney and assess future options.[31][32]
| Des Hasler – coaching results by season | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Year | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win % | Position | Finals |
| MAN | 2004 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 38% | 13 / 15 | Did not qualify |
| MAN | 2005 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 48% | 8 / 15 | LostQualifying Final againstParramatta Eels22–46 |
| MAN | 2006 | 26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 54% | 5 / 15 | LostSemi-Final againstSt George Illawarra Dragons0–28 |
| MAN | 2007 | 27 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 74% | 2 / 16 | Lost2007 NRL Grand Final againstMelbourne Storm8–34 |
| MAN | 2008 | 27 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 74% | 2 / 16 | Won2008 NRL Grand Final againstMelbourne Storm40–0 |
| MAN | 2009 | 25 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 56% | 5 / 16 | LostQualifying Final againstMelbourne Storm12–40 |
| MAN | 2010 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 48% | 8 / 16 | LostQualifying Final againstSt George Illawarra Dragons0–28 |
| MAN | 2011 | 27 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 78% | 2 / 16 | Won2011 NRL Grand Final againstNew Zealand Warriors24–10 |
| MAN | 206 | 122 | 0 | 84 | 59% | |||
| BUL | 2012 | 27 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 74% | 1 / 16 | Lost2012 NRL Grand Final againstMelbourne Storm4–14 |
| BUL | 2013 | 25 | 13 | 0 | 12 | 52% | 6 / 16 | LostElimination Final againstNewcastle Knights6–22 |
| BUL | 2014 | 28 | 16 | 0 | 12 | 57% | 7 / 16 | Lost2014 NRL Grand Final againstSouth Sydney Rabbitohs6–30 |
| BUL | 2015 | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 58% | 5 / 16 | LostSemi-Final againstSydney Roosters12–38 |
| BUL | 2016 | 25 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 56% | 7 / 16 | LostElimination Final againstPenrith Panthers12–28 |
| BUL | 2017 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 42% | 11 / 16 | Did not qualify |
| BUL | 155 | 88 | 0 | 62 | 59% | |||
| MAN | 2019 | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 58% | 6 / 16 | LostSemi-Final againstSouth Sydney Rabbitohs26–34 |
| MAN | 2020 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 35% | 13 / 16 | Did not qualify |
| MAN | 2021 | 27 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 64% | 4 / 16 | LostPreliminary Final againstSouth Sydney Rabbitohs16–36 |
| MAN | 2022 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 38% | 11 / 16 | Did not qualify |
| MAN | 97 | 48 | 0 | 49 | 49% | |||
| GLD | 2024 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 33% | 14 / 17 | Did not qualify |
| Career | 482 | 266 | 0 | 216 | 55% | |||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)