The Manly halfback said praised Hasler, describing him as a formative character in his career.

Cherry-Evans is the only remaining member of the Manly side that Hasler guided to victory in the 2011 grand final before his acrimonious departure to Canterbury.

Hasler also led the Sea Eagles to the 2008 premiership.

It was reported on Friday night Hasler was in line to return to the club with his manager George Mimis in deep negotiations to return to the club as soon as next year.

Hasler has also reportedly been asking potential staff members to stay free from other clubs so they could join him at Manly next year.

Sea Eagles chairman Scott Penn has also confirmed Hasler is a contender to take over the NRL coaching job from Trent Barrett.

Manly still to work out an exit deal with Trent Barrett, who originally gave 12 months notice, which would last until next July.

Hasler reportedly had issues with the owners of the Sea Eagles, the Penn family, but these have reportedly been worked out.

The Sea Eagles coaching job has been in the headlines after Barrett fell out with the club over infrastructure and support issues.

Cherry-Evans is in camp with the Australian side in Auckland and spoke after the Kangaroos 26-24 loss to New Zealand yesterday and ahead of a huge international clash against the giant-killers Tonga in Auckland next weekend.

He said he hadn’t been updated by Sea Eagles officials on their search for a new coach after Barrett tendered his resignation.

However, he welcomed the idea of Hasler returning, saying the coach occupied a special place in his heart after handing him his first-grade debut.

“Tim Sheens gave me an Aussie jersey, Mal Meninga a Queensland (jersey) and Des Hasler at club,” Cherry-Evans said. “So those three coaches are people that I’ll never forget.

“If I was to link up with my first-ever first-grade coach, I’d be all for it.”

The northern beaches are often referred to as the “insular peninsula” and Sea Eagles fans live by the motto “No one likes us and we don’t care”.

It’s often said that Manly needs a coach ingrained in the Manly culture to thrive and Cherry-Evans described Hasler as one of the architects of the Manly siege mentality.

“Everyone hates Manly so our backs are against the wall and we love playing that style of footy and living with that mentality,” Cherry-Evans said.

“Obviously Des was a big part of that. If he gets the opportunity to come back, I’m sure he’ll pick up where he left off.”

Penn has stated he’s happy to work with Hasler despite his departure in 2011 being on unpleasant terms after he was accused of attempting to induce staff members to follow him to Belmore.

Cherry-Evans said there was no ill will between the players and Hasler.

“I can only speak on behalf of myself, but no,” Cherry-Evans said.

“I think I’ve made it very clear throughout my career I wouldn’t begrudge anyone for making sure they’re looking after themselves.

“It’s a pretty cruel game we’re playing. Job security is a thing that’s very rare. For people to look after their own future, it’s certainly not a problem for me.”

Speaking on Fox Sports’ Bill and Boz, NSW cricketer Trent Copeland said Hasler’s record speaks for itself but the game has moved in the past couple of years.

“He went to the Bulldogs and had a reasonable record and got them a lot better than what they were when he took over but jeez he played a negative style of football and it’s not in the modern game style,” Copeland said.

“The teams that are winning are playing second-phase footy, up tempo, they’re playing unstructured. That is totally the opposite of Des Hasler footy teams.

“If Manly go back there. I really worry what it might do to the Trbojevic brothers and numerous other guys.

“Where do they go structurally and how they play their footy albeit they struggled this year under Trent Barrett.

“But I would have more of an issue game style wise with Des Hasler, and that’s just from a fan’s point of view.”

— with AAP