Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans demands improvement from his Sea Eagles this weekend
Manly might be coming off one of their best wins in recent years but skipper Daly Cherry-Evans knows they’ll need to raise the stakes in Friday’s sudden death semi-final against Souths.
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A repeat of Manly’s stirring performance to beat Cronulla last weekend will not be enough in Friday night’s sudden-death final against South Sydney at ANZ Stadium.
That is the main message from skipper Daly Cherry-Evans to his teammates as they prepare to take on Souths following the makeshift’s side’s inspiring 28-16 win at Lottoland.
Cherry-Evans told his teammates they must go to another level against the Rabbitohs.
“The first week of finals was good,” Cherry-Evans said. “We played really well but there is going to be another level of intensity added to this week.
“We need to be better and we can be better.”
Practising what he preached, Cherry-Evans stayed on the field after the squad’s ball-work session at Narrabeen yesterday to finetune his kicking in the driving rain.
“It’s just part of preparation for me,” he said. “The kicking game is very important for every team.
“I’ve got to make sure I play my role in the side and practising kicking is certainly an enjoyable part of training, so I don’t mind hanging around and kicking a few footies.”
Cherry-Evans is also aware that field goals have separated the Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs in their two games this season.
He booted the matchwinner when Manly won a 13-12 thriller in round four.
“I will be prepared for any situation,” he said. “I like to go into a game understanding no matter what happens I like to think I have done enough in past experiences and training during the week to cover all bases.
“I understand the pressure people are putting on the halfbacks across all the sides in the finals. When you win you get praise and when you don’t you bear the other side of it.
“But that is OK with me. I’ve got a lot of clarity going into games.
“And I’m always nice and clear what my role is and how I can get the best out of myself and do my job the best I can for my side.”
Cherry-Evans enjoys the pressure that comes with big games.
“You guys want to call it pressure situations, I call it finals footy,” he said.
“Flip it on its head, I get to play finals footy again. That excites me, it doesn’t daunt me.
“That is where you want to be as a player, they are the games you want to be involved in.
“And when you get written off, that is even better because when you prove them wrong it is a pretty nice feeling.”
Cherry-Evans missed Monday’s recovery session as a precautionary measure after his family was hit by a stomach but was back into all training on Tuesday.
Originally published as Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans demands improvement from his Sea Eagles this weekend
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