I let my teammates down in first Roosters game: DCE
Jasper Bruce |
Daly Cherry-Evans admits he let his teammates down on Sydney Roosters debut but credits his years of experience for helping him bounce back in round two.
Five of the Warriors’ seven tries came down Cherry-Evans’ right edge as the veteran’s hotly-anticipated next chapter began with a 42-18 belting from the Auckland side earlier this month.
Cherry-Evans’ opposite player, journeyman Tanah Boyd, notably dummied straight past him for the first try of the round-one smash-up.
“I would say that I take a lot of pride in my performance still to this day,” Cherry-Evans said.
“So I was definitely disappointed on that plane ride home last week about how I performed and how I let my teammates down.”
It was a different story for Cherry-Evans and the Roosters against bitter rivals South Sydney on Friday night.
Alex Johnston’s record-breaking 213th try stole the show, but Cherry-Evans quietly stepped past the defence for his first try as a Rooster and put James Tedesco over to seal the 26-18 win.
“I was really clear on what needed to get fixed in my role,” the five-eighth said.
“I didn’t wait for anything to happen, I felt like along with the team, we went after the game.”
No man in history has played more games at starting halfback than Cherry-Evans’ 352, with the 37-year-old also the oldest active player in the league.
“When we play bad and I play bad, it comes with the territory that people are going to have opinion on that,” he said.
“After this long, I’ve got some pretty good understanding of how can I deal with that and that is to stay off my phone, go to work with the team and work hard.
“I definitely didn’t get caught up in the hysteria of the ‘house is burning down’, which some people made it look like. I feel like that’s one of my strengths: Putting things into perspective.”
The Roosters face a sterner test in Friday’s clash with Penrith, who began the season with convincing defeats of fellow heavyweights Brisbane and Cronulla.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary felt the Roosters were still finding their feet with Cherry-Evans in the halves.
“They’re probably in a position there, particularly with Cherry going there, just working out how they all fit together,” he said.
“Very strong team, always a great opponent for us.”
AAP