Manly Sea Eagles' football general manager didn't foresee the furore that was to come over the club's Pride jerseys, leaked emails have revealed.
In July, seven Sea Eagles players were stood down for their round 20 clash against Sydney Roosters, refusing to don a rainbow jersey in recognition of the LGBT+ community.
The players argued they were not properly consulted over the jerseys, which clashed with their religious beliefs.
Emails obtained by Australia's Daily Telegraph support the players' point, with a conversation between football general manager John Bonasera and Manly commercial boss Luke Tucker from May - two months before the scandal - backing up their claim.
"I just want to doublecheck, before production commences, that we won't have any issues with any players wearing these jerseys for this one-off game," Tucker wrote.
"Don't see an issue at all mate," Bonasera replied.
Without the seven players, the understrength Sea Eagles were beaten 20-10 by the Roosters, and lost all five of their remaining regular-season games to miss out on a playoff spot by 10 points.
At the time of the controversy, the Sea Eagles were 10th on the NRL ladder and outside post-season contention on points differential only.
Coach Des Hasler is reportedly considering a $1 million lawsuit against the club, arguing the underperformance affected his employment prospects, with a contract clause to give him an additional year, if the Sea Eagles finished sixth or higher.
Both former Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold and Cronulla Sharks assistant coach Josh Hannay have been linked with the Sea Eagles coaching role, should Hassler leave his position.
