You would have made a fortune buying shares in Anthony Seibold at the start of the year. A professional assistant when he was given the job at South Sydney, he ended the season as the NRL's coach of the year and holding the keys to a multi-layered transaction that could see four clubs with new coaches.
So much has been made of the pursuit of Ivan Cleary by Penrith that the future of Seibold has somewhat been left in the shade. In reality, it is he that has the biggest call to make, that being whether to stay at a powerhouse club that looks on the verge of a premiership or go to a powerhouse club that looks on the verge of a premiership.
Wanted man: Anthony Seibold could face a big decision if the Broncos make him an offer.Credit:AAP
The bonds to the Rabbitohs are undoubtedly strong. He took his side to within one game of a grand final, heart-and-soul forward Sam Burgess will remain there for the rest of his career and owner Russell Crowe is a very difficult man to turn down.
It is a club steeped in history… yet Seibold has yet to put pen to paper. An offer to extend his services has been on the table and, as my colleague Andrew Webster reported on Monday, the Rabbitohs are now sweating on an answer, perhaps as early as the end of the week.
Seibold lost his cool for the only time of the entire season after being linked day after day after day to the Broncos job. It had been reported that it was his for the taking, should he want it, and that it was simply a fait accompli that he would move north within the next two seasons.
Advertisement
After losing to the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, he snapped before the press conference in a bid to quieten the noise as he tried to prepare a squad for a post-season run. It worked, for a while. Yet the contract papers are still sitting on his desk.
Souths fans would be understandably upset to lose such a gem after just one season. Seibold has surpassed everyone's expectations in the way he's not only coached but handled the inevitable array of off-field distractions that are part-and-parcel of an NRL gig.
But it's impossible for him not to be enticed by Brisbane's advances. Some close to the club will tell you Kevin Walters has the inside running when Wayne Bennett leaves after the 2019 season, or perhaps before it if the snowball starts rolling within the next few weeks.
Most will say it is Seibold that is on top of the list of potential recruits to replace the supercoach. And the Broncos aren't a club that comes calling often.
The office in Red Hill has only been vacant a handful of times since Brisbane entered the competition in 1988. Bennett was there for the first 20 years before leaving in 2008 for the Dragons. After a stop in Newcastle, he was back in 2015, with Ivan Henjak and Anthony Griffin filling the void in between.
An approach was made to Craig Bellamy during the season, which gives you an indication of the kind of coach the Broncos see as the perfect fit at one of the richest and most-influential clubs in Australian sport.
Chief executive Paul White and the Brisbane board know their next move may well be one of the most important in the club's history. No premierships since 2006 represents for them a barren return given the resources, talent and facilities at their disposal.
With Bellamy knocking them back, the Broncos need a high-profile recruit to not only help a young squad take the next step but reinforce their own beliefs about their standing within the code.
Seibold has some thinking to do but the clock is ticking. His next move might be the domino that finally lets us see who will be coaching who when the 2019 NRL seasons gets underway.
Sports reporter
