Cherry-Evans to let future call roll into off-season
Scott Bailey |
Daly Cherry-Evans insists he does not know if his Manly farewell will double as an NRL retirement, adamant a decision on his future will only be made after the season.
Barring a final-round miracle of epic proportions, Cherry-Evans will close the curtain on his 352-game Manly career on Friday night against the Warriors at Brookvale.
Almost all in rugby league expect Cherry-Evans to land at the Sydney Roosters next season, on what is widely believed to be a one-year deal.
But the 36-year-old would not say on Tuesday if that was the case, requesting not to be asked about his future at the start of a 13-minute press conference.
When asked at the end of the press conference if he wanted to set the record straight on whether a verbal agreement with the Roosters existed, Cherry-Evans responded: “Thank you for your time”.
Since revealing in March this would be his 15th and final season with Manly, Cherry-Evans has maintained he will announce his next move in his own time.
The halfback said he still did not have a date in mind for an announcement, with one of the reasons being he did not know what lay ahead for him.
Instead, the former Kangaroos Test captain indicated he would decide in the off-season whether enough fuel remained in the tank to play on.
“I don’t make those decisions lightly and have found it best in years gone by to not make that decision during the season,” Cherry-Evans said.
“More than likely we’re going to be on break next week. So I think it’s a good time to stop, take stock and see what’s ahead.”
Manly are set to blood the long-term heir to the No.7 jersey in teenage half Joey Walsh off the bench on Friday night, before Jamal Fogarty’s arrival next year.
The Sea Eagles can still make the finals with a big win, but would need the Sydney Roosters to lose to South Sydney hours later with a combined 82-point margin in the two games.
Even then, Manly would still require Canberra to beat the Dolphins on Sunday.
Cherry-Evans added he did not know how he would feel come Friday night after spending his whole career at Manly.
“I’ve definitely been thinking about it this week at different times,” he said.
“I keep getting asked how I feel … and the answer is I just don’t know.
“Maybe I feel a bit differently come Friday night. But for right now, it’s still not as much as people might be wanting.”
A premiership-winner at Manly as a rookie in 2011, Cherry-Evans’ final year at the club has been overshadowed by his unexpected exit.
But after a year in which his relationship with the club dominated headlines, Cherry-Evans did not close the door on one day returning in a coaching or off-field capacity.
“I don’t know what I want to do when I retire from footy,” Cherry-Evans said.
“If the club thought I could offer something to the next generation then I’d be grateful to look at those things.
“Naturally I still think I have something to offer the game in regards to some levels of coaching.
“I don’t know if I’d be good at it, but I feel like I might have some knowledge to pass onto the next generation.”
AAP
