Manly CEO Tony Mestrov tells a fib in order to keep his word to Daly Cherry-Evans

Two weeks ago Phil Rothfield called Tony Mestrov about a rumour sweeping through rugby league circles about Daly Cherry-Evans. So why did the Manly boss lie?

Two weeks ago Manly boss Tony Mestrov felt obliged to tell a lie to protect his club captain Daly Cherry-Evans.

Your columnist had phoned the Sea Eagles CEO about a rumour sweeping rugby league circles that DCE would be moving on from the northern beaches at the end of the season.

No, I was told everything was sweet and talks were ongoing.

It has since emerged DCE had informed the club late last year that he was leaving.

“I couldn’t dog him,” Mestrov told me on Friday.

“I gave him my word that it would stay in the vault; that nothing would be leaked to the media. Sorry mate, but you’ve gotta look after your players.”

Mestrov did so to protect Cherry-Evans from fan outrage, and the backlash he’s now likely to face at Brookvale Oval on Sunday against Parramatta.

The Manly boss also was wary of the potential unsettling effect to have the story played out in the media in a season in which the Sea Eagles are such a genuine premiership contender.

Mestrov is hardly the first rugby league official to tell me a ‘pork pie’.

As legendary Canterbury boss Peter Moore once told me: “It’s sometimes unavoidable – but you only tell a lie when you have to.”

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles CEO Tony Mestrov. Picture: Dean Lewins

What I have learnt – from the same source who told me DCE wanted out – is Manly put a solid offer to DCE and his management team last October.

It was a one-year extension at $750,000, sent to his camp by email.

Some might say it was below market value, but they had to keep money in the cap to upgrade Lehi Hopoate and Haumole Olakau’atu – or risk losing at least one of them.

Plus the fact most players are prepared to take a pay cut in their final years, like Paul Gallen did at the Sharks and Ben Hunt more recently at the Broncos.

DCE’s camp came back and said he was looking for between $1.1 million and $1.2 million.

And that’s when he decided to quit and look elsewhere.

Cherry-Evans has done particularly well out of 15 seasons at Manly.

There’s the family home – valued at $5.3m – at Curl Curl on Sydney’s northern beaches. Plus three investment properties at Freshwater, Pendle Hill and North Parramatta.

His latest purchase was the $1.35m unit in North Parramatta through his manager Joe Wehbe, who developed the apartment block.

All up, his real estate portfolio is worth north of $8m.

DCE also bought on the Gold Coast at Mermaid Beach for $1.45m in 2015 when he signed at the Titans. After backflipping on the deal, he sold four years later for $1.65m.

No one can begrudge the champion half for setting himself so well for life after footy. I wish all NRL players were as smart as DCE and hadn’t butchered their money.

He has given Manly as much as it has given him.

This club even cheated ­the salary cap for him. I broke the story back in 2015 how the Sea Eagles got caught cheating when they convinced the star No.7 to backflip on the Titans.

An NRL investigation found Cherry-Evans was being paid $400,000 outside of the cap.

There are no suggestions DCE was aware of the payment discrepancies.

I actually fronted him the night the story broke at Fox Sports studios, and he denied any knowledge of it.

He was then managed by the Orr brothers, Gavin and Chris – not his current agent.

But it again illustrates how far Manly has gone to look after Cherry-Evans over 15 NRL seasons.

Not that it counts for anything now.

Originally published as Manly CEO Tony Mestrov tells a fib in order to keep his word to Daly Cherry-Evans