Where blame must lie as Pride saga ruins Manly

Paul Gallen has launched a fervid defence of Des Hasler amid Manly's terrible late-season form, arguing the officials behind the pride jersey disaster — not the Sea Eagles coach — should cop the blame for the on-field capitulation.The Sea Eagles were placed ninth on the ladder and were on the same amount of points as eighth when the Pride jersey fiasco blew up, but they've lost all four games they've played since the crisis and were particularly bad at the weekend.The Sea Eagles were smashed 40-6 by the Sharks at Brookvale on Saturday and, with two rounds remaining in the regular season, sit in 11th on the ladder and four wins outside the top eight.Danny Weidler reported on Nine's 100% Footy on Monday night that Hasler's position was "safe", but he said there was "an anger brewing at the club about ... their performances".Weidler also said the club's bosses would have "a look at ... their high-performance people".Gallen shifted attention to the rainbow controversy on 100% Footy, suggesting the Manly officials who decided to introduce a pride jersey without consulting players were responsible for the team's demise."That Women in League round or pride round incident — that was the club, that wasn't Des," Gallen said.