Manly have vowed not to be swayed by player power, publicly stating they won't grant any requests for early releases from the NRL club.
Presumably wishing to respond to the ongoing reports of unrest at the club's Narrabeen headquarters, the Manly board on Wednesday night moved to assure Sea Eagles fans that they "fully supported" the honouring of contracts.
That put a dampener on the hopes of at least Steve Matai, who has openly admitted he's asked for an early release, ending his 10-year stint with the club at the end of this season to join the Warriors.
Backrower Anthony Watmough and fullback Brett Stewart are reportedly also seeking to play elsewhere in 2015, apparently over the club not doing enough to retain Brett's South Sydney-bound brother Glenn.
However, the board also stated that negotiations continue that will "hopefully" result in a number of players remaining with the top-of-the-table Sea Eagles.
Whether those negotiations include the senior trio remain to be seen.
"The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles board has thrown its support behind the head coach and the club's position around recent player retention," read the statement.
"Coach Geoff Toovey addressed the board at their monthly meeting this evening where his position on players honouring their NRL contracts with the club was fully supported."
"Negotiations are ongoing with a number of players that will hopefully see them remain at the club, but these remain confidential."
Manly have re-signed Jamie Buhrer and Jesse Sene-Lefao, while Canterbury coach Des Hasler on Wednesday denied he was keen to lure Brett Stewart to Belmore.
Finally, the seven-person board - which includes chairman Scott Penn, former player Peter Peters and Julie Sibraa - sought to address the issue reportedly at the root of the unrest claims.
"The board would like to acknowledge their regret at not being able to retain Glenn Stewart but we look forward to seeing him back on the field and farewelling him in the best possible way at the end of the 2014 NRL season," they said.
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