The Daly Cherry-Evans news nearly knocked me over on Monday night, and I’m exactly like everyone else: wondering why he can’t finish his career as a one-club player at Manly, and asking why is he leaving?
Does he hate the coach? Has he had a fight with the coach? Has he had a fight with a teammate? Was he offended by the way Manly approached, or didn’t approach, any extension talks and any price tag on him?
We all think we have the right to know what’s happened and why. But really, it’s his business, and he’s made the decision for him and his family. Really, they’re the only ones that matter.
So, after the question of why is he leaving, the next question is where is he going?
I think a massive factor in where DCE ends up is his young family and his three daughters who are going to school on the northern beaches.
You can rule out the UK. There’s a lot of talk about him going back to Queensland, where the Cowboys and Titans need a halfback. I don’t know that the Titans are going there after his infamous backflip 10 years ago, though.
Back against the wall … Daly Cherry-Evans.Credit: Steven Siewert
There’s the Dolphins too, of course, but where would that leave young Isaiya Katoa as a halfback? I think everyone knows how highly I rate him.
Personally, I think he’ll end up at the Roosters, with the Bulldogs the other Sydney club in contention. With the player market at the moment, even at Cherry-Evans’ age, he is a $1.4 million to $1.5 million-a-season player.
He’s 36, and he’s only missed 23 games in 15 seasons at the top level, and only a handful of those through injury. He’s played 25 games for Queensland and 21 for Australia. Cherry-Evans is just so durable and the only person who really compares to him on that front is Cameron Smith.
I have no doubt he can play until he turns 40 if he wants to. He’s still in the NRL’s top three halfbacks and provided he makes himself available, will play Origin for Queensland again.
But our ageing halves are playing longer and into their late 30s, in part because the game looks after them more than ever. They don’t get hit after they kick and they can go to the line without getting smashed in the back.
Daly’s pretty clever with how he defends, too. He gets up out of the line trying to cut off opposition ball players and having Haumole Olakau’atu defending alongside him doesn’t hurt either. No one’s exactly cueing up to run at his left shoulder are they?
The Roosters have got a war chest as a result of all the players who have left in the past year, and they’ve seen the Cooper Cronk model work perfectly when they signed him at the end of his career, delivering them two premierships in the process.
What the Roosters offer more than anyone else is around what his life looks like post-footy.
Whether he wants to go into the media or elsewhere, the contacts the Roosters board have are the best in the game, and they’re a huge advantage in contract talks. The Bulldogs have that as well, where Phil Gould has plenty of sway along with the Laundy family as a major sponsor.
The way this has all played out, and still will, only reaffirms the stigma around Daly not being a popular figure at times. There were obviously the issues at Manly at the start of his career with senior players but, personally, from when I worked with him during his first couple of years at Manly, I’ve always found him to be a respectful, great young fella.
Otherwise, the rugby league soap opera just never fails to deliver. And maybe the happiest person in the game with the Cherry-Evans saga is Dylan Brown – it’s stopped us all talking about him.
Old sheriff and new sidekick in Penrith’s dynasty
Onto the footy, and I still can’t believe Penrith got close to the Storm last week.
I thought Melbourne were winning and winning well even before Nathan Cleary went down with a head knock, but the Panthers know their game better than anyone.
They never stop competing and an 88 per cent completion rate in wet, greasy conditions was just incredible. They love the grind, they don’t get bored with it – and that’s mental fitness that is just as important as physical fitness.
Isaah Yeo is a phenomenal leader, and he went to another level once Cleary was forced off. He topped the tackle count while running like a front-rower and ball-playing like a halfback.
Lindsay Smith is emerging as a quality sidekick, too. In the opening three games of the season he’s played big minutes and Yeo is using him in attack on his outside. Smith’s got surprisingly good hands for a prop – there’s a cricketing background behind that – and he’s taking the ball, turning and passing himself, which stops the outside defence rushing up.
It has featured in a couple of tries already this year, including Brian To’o’s first last week, and you can already see the trust Yeo has in the young front-rower.
Trent Toelau comes in at No.7 against Souths and he’s just another Panthers kid who knows his job in this Penrith system. I was really impressed with his performance in a second-string side against Manly in the trials when the Panthers won easily.
Watch for his run threat and strong kicking game.
Latrell can play fullback and centre … at the same time
As for Souths, this game, albeit against an under-strength Penrith team, will give us a good idea of where they’re really at. They knocked over two struggling teams in the Dragons and Dolphins, but when they came up against a top-eight team in Cronulla, they were absolutely blown away.
Latrell Mitchell’s long-awaited return is almost upon us.Credit: Michael Pantaleone
Latrell Mitchell is on the way back from his hamstring injury against the Roosters next week, which is great to hear and leaves Wayne Bennett with a huge call to make.
The question mark about putting him straight back to fullback is just how much running he’s been able to do in the past six weeks. Personally, I’d play him at left centre with Jack Wighton going to lock for the next three or four weeks so Latrell can build his match fitness.
What I’d do in attacking situations is rotate him with Jye Gray. So from set plays at penalties, scrums and some dropouts, I’d have Latrell at fullback and Gray out at left centre. That way you have Latrell involved, chasing the moments in a game and putting the defence on edge.
This week though, Penrith will just keep grinding away and wait for Souths to crack at Accor Stadium on a dewy surface and in a low-scoring game. They won a grand final last year against Melbourne the exact same way.
It’s a big test for the Rabbitohs’ outside backs against Penrith’s kick chase, and being able to help their forwards win the yardage battle. Cody Walker’s patience in producing the right play at the right time will be key, too, but I see the Panthers being too strong again.
Joey’s tip: Penrith by eight
First try-scorer: Brian To’o
Man of the match: Isaah Yeo
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
