"I just advised [Manly] that I thought there was open-sourced material in relation to the selection of Hopoate as coach," Walpole said. "I pointed out that the commissioner of police had excluded Hopoate from the casino in July and that's a decision not taken lightly. The holdings we have to make that decision are confidential.

John Hopoate has been charged with assault Credit:Anthony Johnson

"There is open-sourced information about his links to organised crime figures and I thought Manly needed to take that into account. I just advised the NRL that they needed to have a look at the open-sourced material available for Hopoate [regarding his] position [as coach]. Our squad is there to protect the integrity of casino operations. The same squad can't sit by and not give advice to the NRL when the same person is appointed [to a coaching role]."

Sea Eagles officials were unable to confirm if Hopoate was still the coach of the club when contacted by Fairfax Media on Friday. The NRL has also threatened Manly with a breach notice over Hopoate's involvement. It is understood they will receive it should they fail to stand him down. The NSW Rugby League has supported Manly's desire to install Hopoate as coach. Manly's under-18s team has the bye this weekend which allows the Sea Eagles a chance to delay any decision and escape further punishment by the NRL.

Hopoate oversaw the side's first game which resulted in a 42-18 loss to Newcastle last Saturday at Brookvale Oval. Hopoate played briefly for NSW and Australia during his 209-game first-grade career. He spent the bulk of his career at the Sea Eagles but also had stints at the Wests Tigers and Manly's failed Northern Eagles joint venture with North Sydney. Hopoate served a total of 45 weeks in suspensions on the sidelines — an NRL record.