Des Hasler reckons there are two Manly teams and that is why he’s especially wary of Canterbury’s Friday NRL night clash at Brookvale Oval.

“You play Manly and then you play Manly at Brookvale, it’s two entirely different outlooks as the poor old Melbourne Storm found out last week,” said Bulldogs coach Hasler on Thursday.

“There’s always something special about playing at a ground like Brookvale, hence you can understand the want and the need to save suburban grounds.”

In a benevolent mood, often-gruff Hasler handed out apples to the reporters who got out of bed in time to attend his 7.15am media conference at Belmore.

Few, if any, know Manly better than Hasler, who coached the Sea Eagles from 2004-11, claiming premierships in 2004 and 2011.

He “wasn’t the least surprised” that Manly were able to overcome the turmoil surrounding star halves Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans signing for other clubs from next season and topple the Storm at Brookvale last Saturday.

Despite the Bulldogs’ strong win over resurgent Parramatta last Friday, Hasler was typically understated about his side’s chances of winning back to back games, even rating the Sea Eagles’ pack – which lost Anthony Watmough, Glenn Stewart and Jason King in the off-season – as better than his powerhouse unit.

“I think you’ve got people like Matt Ballin, who’s just such an experienced player, you’ve got Jamie Buhrer and you’ve got young (Jake) Trbojevic off the bench, the last thing you do is underrate any team but particularly a team like Manly at Brookvale.

“They probably shade us in the forwards, so we’ll have to step up and do our best against that side and when you look at their backline it’s all class”.

The match will be Hasler’s fourth return to Brookvale and he claims that any special attention he gets from the crowd is just part of the experience.

“I don’t take too much notice of it … the crowd are pretty good to tell you the truth but that’s all part of the action, part of the night,” he said.

Hasler refused to comment on the contract situation of his halfback Trent Hodkinson, who’s been linked with a return to Manly as a replacement for Cherry-Evans, but did imply that talks were going on to retain him.

“We don’t formally discuss contracts with you (the media), no offense, but that’s underway”.