Daly Cherry-Evans v Manly is the NRL at its sexiest. But it’s not why Roosters, Sea Eagles are hot and bothered
Daly Cherry-Evans’ return to Brookvale Oval highlights rugby league’s sexiest topic: contracts, recruitment, retention, squad management, cash.
A year on since Cherry-Evans announced his departure from Manly on an NRL broadcaster – with an extension offered minutes later on another hosting broadcaster – the waters are still muddy as to exactly how the Sea Eagles lost their most decorated player.
It’s not important. What’s far more pressing is when, where and why Manly haven’t signed quality middle players to strengthen their forward battle group (albeit after chasing veteran Mitchell Barnett to the Broncos, who are short on equipment in the player market).
Jake Trbojevic’s future is one thing. But Luke Brooks’ annual income of nearly $700,000 seems just as big.
Slow starts are nothing new for the Roosters. Sam Walker and James Tedesco noted this week that the Tricolors have been out of the blocks almost every year following a summer of headlines regarding recruiting, retention and roster management.
The difference in 2026 is the key signing of Cherry-Evans, which bears obvious parallels with the arrivals of Tedesco and Cooper Cronk in 2018.
Asked about his first campaign as a Rooster after moving across town from the Tigers, Tedesco recalled a shock 10-8 defeat to his former team at the Allianz Stadium and a rather miserable first game with the red, white and blue.
“I was booed every time I touched the ball,” the Roosters captain said. “I dropped the ball to lose the game… I had a lot of haters after that game. But it turned out pretty well that year, so I can’t complain.”
Tedesco also noted that in 2018, “we had four defeats, four wins, and most of us, including me, panicked a little bit. [saying] ‘What’s going wrong?’”
Just as Cronk, Tedesco and a team loaded with talent (like this year’s vintage, which featured a dozen Origin or first-tier Test players) can finally get things done, the Roosters’ attack must also kick into gear at some point.
Three games in March does not mean a winning combination of halves.
How salary caps are spent for the Sea Eagles and Roosters make sexy headlines. But right now it’s the unsexy nuts and bolts of rugby league that matter.
It’s a bye week and 11 days until Manly’s Brookvale fans are booed and leave early in the second round after a dismal 36-16 defeat to Newcastle.
Reuben Garrick’s long lay-off against the Knights, but inexplicably playing the ball and no-one following up for dummy half duties, was Manly’s most frustrating mistake, overshadowing Brooks’ botched kick-off and numerous tackles in their own area.
Lehi Hopoate and Taniela Paseka said all the right things this week about being “disappointed in our line of work”, but Sea Eagles fans have heard it too often and seen otherwise.
Anthony Seibold is “two games into a two-year extension” as he noted on Thursday but the pressure continues to mount on the Manly coach.
Meanwhile, Tedesco, not for the first time, did not miss to assess his side’s commitment to the fundamentals of rugby league.
As a full-back and defensive coordinator, the disappointment of conceding 42 points to the Warriors and 40 to Penrith two weeks later is obvious.
The lack of cohesion between Cherry-Evans and his new team-mates on the right wing appears to have leaked 10 tries in three games.
“I think our hunger and the effort we put into each other, playing for each other and saving tries is definitely something we talk about,” Tedesco said.
“Probably a combination of both.” [structure and attitude issues]“But I think our attitude towards austerity efforts and doing whatever it takes to stop them is definitely an area for improvement.”
The last time Tedesco was so publicly unimpressed with his team’s determination was in mid-2023, when he described the Roosters’ support play and said “our areas of effort around the ball are as low as I’ve ever seen”.
After months of underachievement with their attack sitting in 16th place by the end of the season, the Tricolors found their mojo and averaged 27 points per game from July onwards.
The thing is, with all the talent at the Roosters and Manly, the sexiness problem will solve itself. It’s the basics that are most important right now.
Dan Walsh is sports correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
