Des Hasler suffers NIGHTMARE return to Manly as Sea Eagles get one over former coach amid $1.5million legal battle

It was not a happy return for Des Hasler as the former Manly coach saw his new club, the Titans, dominated at Brookvale on Sunday.

Hasler walked back through the doors at 4Pines Park for the first time since he was controversially axed by the Sea Eagles at the end of 2022.

His exit still remains a matter for the courts with the Gold Coast coach pursuing up to a $1.5 million payout from his old club and a two-day hearing set for November.

But it was an afternoon to forget for the 63-year-old, with Manly running out dominant 38-8 victors on their home turf.

Hasler's face was a picture of frustration as the cameras panned to him in the coaches' box in the closing stages, with seemingly everything on the pitch going wrong for the two-time premiership winner. 

He was neither cheered nor jeered by Manly fans, with his bigger concern now a Titans team languishing in 15th after their three-game win streak was snapped. 

But Manly are on the brink of a finals berth, with veteran back Luke Brooks closing in on a maiden appearance in the series with a sublime performance. 

In a crucial match for both sides in the race for the eight, Manly trailed 8-0 early before blowing the Titans out of the water with seven unanswered tries at Brookvale.

The win moved the Sea Eagles within two points of the top four, and effectively killed off former coach Des Hasler's hopes of taking the Titans to the finals in his first season.

Tom Trbojevic was back to his best, scoring two tries, setting up another three, and looking more physical in attack in his third game back from injury.

The only dark spot for the home side was a fractured eye-socket to teenage winger Lehi Hopoate, who left the field with considerable swelling and did not return.

Manly are already without strike centre Tolu Koula in their backline for another five weeks, meaning they will need to call in another reserve for the run to the finals.

Still, this was a big win after they looked shot early.

Gold Coast had five linebreaks and busted 18 tackles in the first 18 minutes alone on Sunday, and could easily have had more than the opening two unconverted tries.

Then Brooks turned the tide for Manly.

Some 11 years into his NRL career and still without a finals appearance, Brooks stepped and jinked from close to the line to cross and put Manly on the board.

From the next set, the five-eighth opted to run it on the last, spotted numbers on the left edge and got the ball to Tommy Talau for Hopoate to score.

Both plays showed the freedom Brooks has relished this year at Manly, away from the weight of expectation and responsibility he had at Wests Tigers.

And from there the floodgates opened, with Manly now likely two wins away from wrapping up a top-eight spot.

Trbojevic dominated the second half, putting a lofted ball on a platter for winger Jason Saab to score and make it 18-8 after the break.

The fullback put Reuben Garrick through a hole and loomed up in support play to score, before later finishing an 80-metre intercept from Talau.

Brooks and Trbojevic combined late to set up another try, with the fullback tipping on a pass from the five-eighth to send Talau over.

Trbojevic also set up another for his brother Ben, with the Sea Eagles appearing a genuine threat with their No.1 back on the field.

With all eyes on Brooks and Trbojevic, Hasler's return to Brookvale amid a legal dispute with the club went largely unnoticed.