I'm sure those Manly fans calling for Des Hasler's head on a plate will one day campaign to have a statue of him unveiled outside Brookvale Oval.

Along with Immortal Bob Fulton, Des is the only man to have played in and coached premiership-winning sides at Manly.

From where he took the Sea Eagles shortly after the Northern Eagles debacle to where they are now is simply astonishing.

I'd go as far as to say there would be no Manly - at least a successful Manly - without Dessie's drive, determination, passion, professionalism and hunger for success.

Three grand finals for two wins in five years is a remarkable performance.

Unfortunately his messy departure following last year's premiership win has sullied his reputation in the minds of some Sea Eagles supporters.

To me, it's a grossly unfair assessment.

Let me get one thing straight from the start, D Hasler is one of my closest mates.

We've laughed, fought and cried together over the past 25 years, enduring the many ups and downs rugby league - and life in general - throws up.

Believe me, if I thought he'd done the wrong thing in leaving the club I would have torn strips off him.

There was a lot happening behind the scenes that fans would have been unaware of.

Put simply, the management had the chance to re-sign him long before the grand final and dropped the ball.

In the end, Des had no real option but to depart. It was past unworkable.

As for accusations he attempted to destroy the club by stealing its best off-field talent, let me just say no-one left with a gun to their head.

Yeah, he's pinched Tony Williams. But I didn't hear too many Manly fans feeling sorry for Parramatta when T-Rex left the Eels to join the Sea Eagles.

That's footy these days.

As the countdown to his return to Brookvale continues, Des realises he will be the subject of much attention from fans.

There will be a few banners and a bit of abuse thrown around but I just hope it doesn't turn nasty.

Manly fans are passionate and loyal - but they're not feral.

I'm not saying the maroon and white faithful should stand and applaud their old coach on Friday night.

But they should respect what he did for the club, especially when it was on its knees.

As for who will win, I like Manly as long as they are close to full strength.

The other round 20 winners are: Brisbane, Melbourne, Warriors, Souths, Cronulla, Penrith, North Queensland.