From one of the richer clubs in the League, Manly were by now struggling to keep up with player payments and were unable to entice players to the club. Much talk was made about a possible joint venture between local rivals Manly and Norths with both teams were in need of the $10M on offer. With these issues in the background, Manly turned up to the regular season seven rounds late and soon Bob Fulton quit his head coach position due to his wife's health concerns. Peter Sharp took over the reins and won his first three games, a record result for a caretaker coach in the League.