Daly Cherry-Evans’ Origin selection silence is deafening, writes Darren Lockyer
Just 11 months ago, Daly Cherry-Evans was wearing the Maroons’ No. 7 jumper in Origin battle before 91,513 fans at the MCG ... but suddenly the selection silence is deafening, writes Darren Lockyer.
Opinion
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DALY Cherry-Evans runs out on Saturday night to square off against Broncos playmaker Ben Hunt at Suncorp Stadium.
Manly, a club in a transitional phase, are raging underdogs, as is Cherry-Evans in a sense, having been leapfrogged by Hunt in the Origin playmaking pecking order.
It says much about Cherry-Evans’ place in the code at the moment that his duel with Hunt slipped my mind for most of the build-up.
Just 11 months ago, Cherry-Evans was wearing the Maroons’ No. 7 jumper in Origin battle before 91,513 fans at the MCG ... but suddenly the selection silence is deafening.
Sam Thaiday called him the forgotten man of the Queensland side.
None of this is a slight on his ability, which we know is well above average, but Daly has fallen off the radar in an erratic Manly side.
On Saturday, he faces another tough assignment but it might just be the stage to put himself back in the Test and Origin discussion.
The showdown is compelling because it will demonstrate why Hunt and Anthony Milford benefit from the lethal alliance Cherry-Evans once had in Kieran Foran and is craving again at Brookvale.
Hunt and Milford are supremely talented individuals and their combined performance exceeds the sum of their parts. The Cowboys won the premiership last year because they found threats either side of the ruck in Johnathan Thurston and Michael Morgan.
There are some mitigating factors for Daly. Manly have a new coach in Trent Barrett. They have a new hooker in Matt Parcell. They have a new five-eighth in Dylan Walker. It’s an orientation period for the club and Cherry-Evans is getting used to players who are learning each other’s styles.
But for any halfback, the key is imposing yourself on the line. Hunt was over-thinking about game management earlier this season, but it’s no surprise his form at the Broncos is best when he backs his strength and runs the ball. Cherry-Evans is also at his optimum when he is thinking run first, pass second.
***
JUST on the Nathan Peats saga, two words sum it up — very cruel. Innocent people have suffered from Parramatta’s salary-cap mess and Peats has effectively taken a bullet for the sake of the Eels club.
We can all learn from mistakes and I hope the NRL can learn from this situation.
What makes our game so attractive is the parity in the competition, so the salary-cap needs to be there, but there is too much collateral damage. Peats and his young family are needless victims.
It’s a situation where there are no easy answers. It’s why we need strong deterrents in the first place so that, hopefully, Peats is the last person who has to go through this.
Originally published as Daly Cherry-Evans’ Origin selection silence is deafening, writes Darren Lockyer
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