Manly coach Anthony Seibold genuinely believes Daly Cherry-Evans is unsure if he wants to play on next year, let alone whether he has a deal already in place at a rival club.
Seibold also confirmed on Saturday that the man he described as the club’s “best player”, Tom Trbojevic, is an option at five-eighth for the Sea Eagles when DCE departs at the end of the season.
Seibold also said he did not expect fans to boo Cherry-Evans at 4 Pines Park on Sunday afternoon, saying “Manly supporters should congratulate ‘Chez’ on the career he’s had at this club, which isn’t done yet”.
It has been a whirlwind week for the Sea Eagles since Cherry-Evans revealed on Monday he would walk away from the club at the end of the year after 15 seasons and was open to playing on with another NRL team.
Manly responded by offering a two-year extension on live TV, then wasted little time in confirming their interest in Canberra’s Jamal Fogarty as a short-term replacement.
It was revealed on Friday that Cherry-Evans had first requested a release from the club at the end of 2023, then told Seibold and the Sea Eagles before Christmas of his plans to leave at the end of this season.
It is believed his next deal will be with the Sydney Roosters or Dolphins. The two clubs have publicly expressed their interest.
Anthony Seibold says he does not know whether Daly Cherry-Evans will play on in 2026.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Seibold said the skipper’s bombshell news would not derail the Sea Eagles’ premiership charge, which continues against the struggling Eels on Sunday.
“I’ve known about it since December,” Seibold said on Saturday. “I’ve said it a number of times that both myself and Chez have had private conversations and, ultimately, it was his decision when he was going to announce this would be his last year [at Manly].
“The club and Chez are at peace with his decision. It’s allowed us to focus on what we do next.
“What we don’t want to do is go away from focusing on the moment.
“We’ve had a really good start to the season. It’s been business as usual internally, and I’m looking forward to seeing how we show how connected we are with our actions on Sunday.”
When asked if he had grilled Cherry-Evans about why he wanted to leave the club – not once, but twice – Seibold said: “I don’t think it’s [that] he doesn’t want to be here. My conversations with Chez I’ll keep private, because that’s the way it should be.
Daly Cherry-Evans’ bombshell announcement on Monday that he will leave the Sea Eagles at the end of the season shocked the NRL.Credit: Getty Images
“I feel Chez is very genuine with regards to him not knowing what he wants to do next.
“Does he want to play on? Next birthday he’s 37. Could he play on? I think he probably could, but only he can answer that.
“As a 36-year-old who has played 332 games for our club – he’s [also] played Origin and for Australia – ultimately he gets to make that call.
“Of course people want to know [if and where he will play next], but I genuinely believe Chez hasn’t made a decision about what he wants to do.
“We’re three rounds into a 27-round season. I think he should be able to make a decision on what he wants to do in his own time. It’s a physical game.”
Despite chasing Fogarty, and knowing teen playmakers Joey Walsh and Onitoni Large are their long-term halves options, Manly like the idea of moving Trbojevic to five-eighth, especially with Lehi Hopoate a readymade fullback replacement.
Trbojevic, Haumole Olakau’atu, Reuben Garrick and Jason Saab would be a potentially damaging right-side combination. Defending in the front line is what Trbojevic regularly does for NSW and Australia when he plays in the centres.
“We were hoping Chez might reconsider his decision from December, but in the background we’ve got a couple of things we’ve planned, and now it’s about going out and executing the right plan, and that would be one of them,” Seibold said about Trbojevic being a No.6.
Jake Trbojevic was certainly all for moving his brother to five-eighth, revealing during the week his brother already had a significant say in how the Sea Eagles played.
“He’s one of the smartest people you will meet in terms of rugby league and the way he reads the game,” Jake said.
“He’d have to work on his kicking – he hasn’t done that since Aussie rules in the under-12s – but he definitely could do it. I think Tom is keen to do whatever suits this club. I think his best position is fullback – I won’t hide from that, he’s a great fullback – but whatever is best for us moving forward, he’ll do.”
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