MARK ‘SPUDD’ CARROLL: Brad Arthur not Kieran Foran should be Manly Sea Eagles NRL coach

Kieran Foran is a quality bloke with a brilliant playing CV and a genuine passion for rugby league.

But he’s not the man the Sea Eagles should be entrusting to lead them into the post-Anthony Seibold era.

I made my thoughts on Seibold crystal clear in last week’s column, calling for calm heads to prevail and to give him a few more games to prove he was the right man for the job.

Owner Scott Penn thought otherwise and pulled the trigger on Seibs a day after the loss to the Roosters, saying he’d seen enough and the club was not heading in the right direction.

I’m not about to bag Scott for that decision. He pays the bills and is within his rights to do the hiring and firing.

But this latest decision is bold and brash and does come with a great degree of risk.

I know Foran is only the interim coach at this stage but you don’t have to be a genius to work out what the plan is.

Obviously, the Manly powerbrokers are hoping Foz is an instant success and can steer the club away from the competition cellar over the next few months.

Whoever the coach is – BA, Foz or Ronald McDonald – the first priority must be to strengthen that forward pack.

If he does, the top job is his for years to come.

And as a former Manly man, I truly hope it works out.

Like me, Foran has a deep love for the club and its fans and will be fully invested in turning this dreadful start to the season around.

I have no doubt he will be a coach of the future, but now is the not the moment to hand him the reins fulltime.

When it comes to who should lead the Sea Eagles from 2027, I hope there are a few phone calls being made to the UK.

That’s where you will find Brad Arthur, the coach I believe is the perfect person to rebuild this once great club.

Okay, BA didn’t win a premiership at Parramatta.

But he did get them to a grand final during a run of five finals appearances in six years.

And he’s done a pretty good job at Leeds in the UK Super League, operating at around 60 per cent success rate.

I love that he copped his axing from the Eels on the chin and went to work on building his coaching resume overseas with a desire to one day return to the NRL.

Arthur was on the Manly books a while back as an assistant coach and had a son play there, so he’s got a fair idea of what makes the place tick.

He keeps a close eye on the NRL and would know what fixes need to be made to make the Sea Eagles great again.

Whoever the coach is – BA, Foz or Ronald McDonald – the first priority must be to strengthen that forward pack.

Your forwards are the main ingredients in the cake. They lay the platform for the fancy boys to do their work.

There’s a few in maroon and white who just haven’t been up to the task so far this season.

I wouldn’t be afraid to take them on and I’m nearly 60!

Let’s see how they all respond to a new coach.

Then we’ll know a lot more about where the club is at.

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED

Only a fool would write off Melbourne off after four rounds and I’m not about to become that fool.

But I do see some worrying signs that lead me to believe this year the Storm will come back to the pack just a little.

Over the last fortnight, Craig Bellamy’s men have lost games they would usually have bottled up well before fulltime.

First came the loss to the then winless Brisbane Broncos.

Melbourne led 14-0 at halftime and then shut up shop, allowing the home side to score 18 unanswered points to steal the game.

I was prepared to write that one off as a bad (half) day at the office and expected to see a red-hot response against the Cowboys on Saturday night.

But, again, the Storm failed to keep the foot on the throat, giving up a six-point halftime advantage in crashing to consecutive defeats.

The latest loss featured a number of un-Melbourne-like mistakes that must be keeping Bellamy up at night.

Kick-offs going out on the full, kick-offs allowed to bounce dead, dropped balls from high kicks, forced passes, bad one-on-one misses and mis-reads in defence…the list goes on and on.

Melbourne has always been able to recover from the loss of good players and go again.

But with Ryan Papenhuyzen, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Eli Katoa all gone this year, the depth and quality isn’t quite what it used to be.

Harry Grant, Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes are brilliant players but they can’t carry the team every week.

And guess who the Storm have next?

The undefeated and in-form Penrith Panthers on Good Friday.

Time to wake up, boys!