Daly Cherry-Evans could be valued at less than $400,000 in the salary cap by the NRL next year if Manly want to re-sign him. But right now, the club privately believes he entered this year leaning towards giving the game away at the end of the season.
Manly insiders, not authorised to speak publicly, say Cherry-Evans has been told about a potential coaching job at the club, while media opportunities are also being put forward.
Expect a decision very soon as Cherry-Evans is a club man who does not enjoy the spotlight.
There has been a lot written and said about Cherry-Evans’ future. At this point, he has not yet made up his mind whether to play on in 2026. And that’s a long way from demanding a two-year extension to stay at Manly, as has been suggested in some areas. Neither the club nor DCE’s management say they have heard anything about demands for a two-year contract extension.
Some of the commentary about Cherry Evans has gone down badly with those close to him.
Cherry-Evans is keeping things to himself, so the truth is not easy to extract. From what this column can ascertain, the club is completely aware of his position, that he is still contemplating his future.
Daly Cherry-Evans is still weighing up whether to play on in 2026.Credit: Getty Images
Sources at the NRL, not authorised to speak publicly, tell me Cherry-Evans will not break the bank for the Sea Eagles, or another club, if he wants to play next year. The Eagles have been told he will be valued by the NRL at $400,000, or even less, on the salary cap.
That is in line with Ben Hunt and his valuation at the Broncos. Hunt, 34, was seen as a $650,000 player by the NRL. That would mean Manly would pick up a bargain buy if Cherry-Evans, 36, was to stay, particularly when compared to the monster $1.4 million-a-season deal Dylan Brown will earn in Newcastle.
The NRL can nominate a minimum figure for a player’s salary it will accept on the club’s salary cap, to avoid clubs being advantaged by a player agreeing to a contract significantly below market value. They won’t discuss publicly what the DCE figure is.
There are several other NRL clubs watching what Cherry-Evans does, and they will pay significantly more for a 12-month stint, which could be extended if he plays to the level everybody knows he can. DCE could earn in the order of $800,000 at rival teams if he shocked everyone and decided to test the market.
One of the clubs watching closely is the Roosters, who like DCE’s character and his relationship with their young half Sam Walker.
Cherry-Evans, who will be 37 by the start of next season, has shown no signs of slowing down, and with quality halfbacks thin on the ground in the NRL, he could make big money.
One thing that can’t be challenged is his commitment to a big year with Manly.
Will Wayne stand for vintage Cheese crackers?
South Sydney are happy for Brandon Smith to be himself, but whether he’s allowed to maintain his high public profile is yet to be decided.
Smith signed a two-year deal to join the Rabbitohs from next season.
Smith is a rising star in the media, largely through his ‘Jam and Cheese’ segment on the Bye Round podcast with James Graham. Until Smith revealed his love for the Rabbitohs on the podcast, Wayne Bennett – the man who will determine what Smith continues to do away from football – was unaware of his prominent role in that area.
Will Wayne Bennett get the best out of Brandon Smith at South Sydney?Credit: Getty Images
Bennett will decide in the coming weeks the level of engagement Smith can have in the media. While the podcast was not high on a checklist when it came to Smith’s lifestyle, Souths say they have done a thorough background check on their signing and they are more than happy to take the chance that he can revive his career.
Bennett is renowned for his ability to get the best out of players who have struggled at other clubs, and there is no question Smith falls into that category.
This column has previously documented that Smith has been working on himself away from football. He’s had a mentor, who the Roosters provided, to help him through challenges away from the game. The man helping him in the background was Rogan Yates. The pair have done a lot of work together, and one day when Smith is ready he will tell a story that has the potential to help others.
Brandon Smith is assisted from the field after suffering a season-ending knee injury last year.Credit: Getty Images
Smith has been doing the hard yards when it comes to the rehab on his anterior cruciate ligament and has also been heavily invested at team meetings. His Rooster teammates have been impressed with his ability to provide insight to help them prepare for rival teams, and that is a side to Smith that he often keeps hidden, preferring to be known as a rogue.
The fact Bennett had no hesitation signing Smith, even after he had previously rejected the master coach’s overtures when he was at the Dolphins, shows Souths are confident about the character of the man they have signed.
Smith is a long way from perfect away from the field, but the fact he is willing to try to change says a lot.
What has been mildly amusing is the criticism of the Roosters for letting Smith go. Perhaps it’s been forgotten they have signed a handy back-up for next year, Blues No.9 Reece Robson.
Where’s Turbo?
Fox Sports’ penny-pinching resulted in one of the more embarrassing moments in commentary last weekend when Andrew Voss and Steve Roach were the victims of the company’s decision not to broadcast live from venues.
Tom Trbojevic crosses for a try – before he vanished from the Fox Sports coverage.Credit: NRL Photos
Tom Trbojevic and his dodgy hamstrings are always of major interest, so when he went missing in the Warriors-Sea Eagles game last round the coverage was disappointing, to say the least.
Unfortunately for the highly professional Voss, he was left flying blind by the lack of pictures and information when Manly’s star No.1 left the field in about the 66th minute of the Sea Eagles’ loss to the Warriors. Voss and Roach were clearly scrambling after realising Trbojevic was no longer at fullback when a kick was fielded by Lehi Hopoate at the back and Turbo was not there. His departure from the field was not captured by the local broadcasters.
Because Voss and Roach were forced to cover the game off the TV from Sydney, rather than being at the match, they had no idea what was going on. Their sideline commentator was also of little help, and it was clear from their commentary they were embarrassed.
The irony is some of News Corp’s hatchet men attacked Nine Entertainment – the owners of this masthead – for leaving chief caller Mathew Thompson at home instead of flying him to Las Vegas for the season openers where Fox Sports had a cast of thousands.
Nine had a number of experts on the sidelines in Vegas, including Danika Mason, Paul Gallen and Johnathan Thurston.
Making matters even more interesting, Voss then used his radio program to tear strips off the local Sky New Zealand coverage and its sideline commentator for an interview with Jake Trbojevic after the game. In it the commentator appears to have mixed up which Trbojevic she was talking to as she expressed concern about why he went up the tunnel during the match. There was also a reference to Jake getting a “yellow card”, which Voss hammered on his show, quite rightly.
Jake Trbojevic received a “yellow card” against the Warriors in New Zealand.Credit: Getty Images
There is obviously tension between the Fox commentators and the level of service they get from New Zealand. However, if Fox had forked out a couple of airfares for Voss and Roach they would have avoided their commentators having to guess what was going on.
Fox had previously run into similar issues while broadcasting Big Bash cricket from the studio when callers were left guessing where the ball was when the cameras hadn’t captured the action properly.
Dragons at sixes and sevens
Dragons insiders fear coach Shane Flanagan has inadvertently increased the pressure on son Kyle after his poorly handled press conference following the loss to the Rabbitohs when he refused to answer a question about the performance of halfback Lachlan Ilias.
It is hard enough for Kyle at the moment playing in the halves and being the coach’s son. The worst thing Flanagan snr could have done was put public pressure on Kyle’s halves partner. That sends all kinds of messages, which will only increase the focus on Kyle.
Ilias was below par against the Rabbitohs, but so were plenty of other Dragons when they lost a game they should have won after being in a strong position. Of bigger concern than Ilias’ performance was the complete lack of effort when it came to trying to stop Jamie Humphreys kicking the field goal that ended up being the match winner.
Ilias was strongly defended by his agent, Braith Anasta, in his role as a host of the NRL 360 show. Anasta acknowledged Ilias’ shortcomings, but then made the valid point that there was now a target on Ilias because of the Flanagan comments.
It is all very well for Flanagan to acknowledge that his comments were out of line, but the lack of public support from a coach will not be forgotten. Making it worse was that the previous halfback, Ben Hunt, did not have a good end to his relationship with Flanagan at the Dragons.
Hunt wanted out of the club for the large majority of Flanagan’s coaching tenure, and left at the end of last season.
Lachlan Ilias had an ordinary afternoon against the Rabbitohs, but did it warrant the treatment from his coach?Credit: NRL Photos
TV rights and wrongs
If the NRL is hoping to sell off State of Origin and finals matches separate from club games to a free-to-air television network, they may be in for a rude shock.
This columnist is not speaking on behalf of anyone at Nine Entertainment, but those who understand the landscape have been telling me for years Origin is essential to the bottom line when it comes to covering the costs of buying the rights for the remainder of the year. In other words, Origin is the sweetener financially, and it would be a tough sell to ask a broadcaster to pay big money for premiership games without the finals or State of Origin.
The NRL won’t want that known widely if they are actually planning to sell off parts of the game to different broadcasters.
The other danger for the NRL in potentially selling games to multiple streaming services is the impact that would have on Kayo, as Fox Sports’ streaming service makes a big deal out of the fact they have every game of the premiership season.
It will be a tough sell for the NRL to expect broadcasters to pay big money for TV rights that don’t include Origin.Credit: Getty Images
The other risk of dividing games among multiple broadcasters is that it can annoy the public. Some who are trying to spin the NRL line say that is good because the product can be purchased in different forms. A bit like buying a soft drink of your choice from any store.
The flaw in that argument is that now you are paying once for the soft drink you like. In the future, you could be paying different shops for the same drink.
The NRL is under pressure to deliver a big television deal because the AFL has set such a high benchmark. That doesn’t sit well with the NRL, which has a better television product with international reach, to some degree.
Those doing the negotiating would love the talk of a range of streaming services getting involved, but from the viewpoint of many, the game is not yet ready or big enough to be of significant interest to a Netflix or something similar.
To say Channel Seven is going to come in and make a big difference in the NRL, particularly in the premiership market, is fanciful, given their investment in the AFL.
There appears to be no room or free-to-air TV rival with the cash to challenge Nine Entertainment. Again, this is the opinion of this column, not company executives.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck crosses for the Warriors in Vegas.Credit: Getty Images
Special moment for Rabbitohs
South Sydney acknowledge their great players from the past as well as any club. There was a lovely tribute to the late great John Sattler after the team’s captain’s run on Friday. It has been two years since Sattler’s passing and in that time the Rabbitohs have moved to Heffron Park in Maroubra.
Previously some of Sattler’s ashes had been spread on Redfern Oval. On Friday, some of Sattler’s ashes were spread onto their new training ground in the presence of John’s son Scott. The player who had the honour of doing that was injured captain Cameron Murray.
Sattler loved the No.13 red and green jumper, which Murray now wears. It was fitting that Murray got the honour and those who witnessed the occasion said it meant the world to him.
“The club wanted to honour Dad at Heffron after ashes were spread at their spiritual home Redfern Oval just after his death,” Scott said. “I honestly had forgotten that the club still has some of his ashes and when [South Sydney chief executive] Blake Solly called two weeks ago asking if they could spread them at Heffron, I was a little overwhelmed.
“His words on the day were beautiful regarding Dad, and when I saw Cam there, I thought it would be fitting that a Bunnies kid who wears 13 and captains the club, but also epitomises what the club represents, would be what Dad would appreciate.
“I sprung it on him without notice and he handled it like the true champion he is.”
Murray said he was deeply honoured to play a role.
“John Sattler is a towering figure at our club,” he said. “Everyone knows what he stood for, and he set a standard for what it means to be a Rabbitoh that we all try and live up to.”
It is moments of class like this that make anyone associated with the game proud of what goes on.
Sin City
Fox Sports boss Steve Crawley has not responded to our inquiries about James Hooper and his behaviour in Las Vegas. But he has first-hand knowledge of what Hooper was up to.
Crawley and the face of Fox Matthew Johns had to take Hooper out of a bar and back to his room. Those with knowledge of what took place have played down other reports I received that there was a physical altercation. We’ve been assured that any contact between the three was good-natured and that things did not get physical.
However, no one has explained how Hooper cut his head and why he was allowed to return to the air after missing all of his duties in Las Vegas.
Cam giving 100%
Cameron Smith is putting all of his media energy into his career at the Nine Network. Smith has been added to the 100% Footy show on Monday nights where he will go head-to-head with the likes of Phil Gould and Paul Gallen.
His radio role on SEN seems to be over. Smith has strong opinions, which were well suited there but are now going to be saved for Nine, where is held in high regard.
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
