Daly Cherry-Evans breaks silence on his axing from the Queensland team and speculation the Roosters have ‘gone cold’

Daly Cherry-Evans admits being axed from the Queensland Origin team was ‘tough’, amid speculation his mooted move to the Roosters could collapse.

Daly Cherry-Evans admits being axed from the Queensland Origin team was “tough” amid speculation his mooted move to the Roosters could collapse.

Cherry-Evans was dumped as Maroons skipper this week, essentially bringing an end to a stellar 26-game State of Origin career that started in 2013.

Queensland coach Billy Slater decided to drop his halfback and captain ahead of Wednesday’s must-win second game of the series in Perth.

Cowboys playmaker Tom Dearden will wear the Queensland No. 7 jersey, with Cameron Munster taking over the Maroons captaincy.

After 19 games as captain of the Maroons, Cherry-Evans was cut after Queensland lost Game One of the series 18-6 in Brisbane a fortnight ago.

Daly Cherry-Evans was a broken man after Origin I. Picture: NRL Photos

The Manly skipper capped a disappointing week with a 28-8 loss to the Titans on the Gold Coast on Friday night and said it had been a challenging time.

“The start of the week was tough,” Cherry-Evans said.

“On Sunday I got the news (I had been dropped) and on Monday I had to go to training and face the boys.

“After that it honestly started to feel normal.

“This is the not the first time I’ve been dropped from the Queensland side. I’ve had experience to take it on board.

“You can’t worry about things you can’t control.

“The initial news was tough but I moved on and thought we were going to come here and play some good footy. Based on our preparation it looked like all the signs were there.

“Unfortunately the most important part of the week is showing up on game day and we didn’t do that.”

Roosters coach Trent Robinson has actively pursued Cherry-Evans. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Cherry-Evans, 36, did little to prove Slater wrong in a shocking night at Cbus Super Stadium against the last-placed Titans.

He kicked dead twice as Manly were out-enthused by an understrength Gold Coast team that produced one of the best wins in the club’s history.

Titans playmaker Kieran Foran produced his best game of the season to snap a three-game losing streak for the wooden spoon favourites.

It was a dreadful performance by the Sea Eagles, who have now lost back-to-back games to bottom four teams Gold Coast and Newcastle.

Cherry-Evans, who has announced he will depart Manly at season’s end, was also buffeted by reports a possible move to the Roosters could collapse.

When asked about reports the Roosters had “gone cold” on signing him next year, Cherry-Evans said: “No I’m not (able to respond).

“I don’t understand that stuff. I stay out of it. All I can do is control my footy at Manly and speculation will be speculation.

“We’ve just lost a couple in a row and it’d be silly for me to be worrying about stuff like that.”

Tom Dearden will replace Cherry-Evans.

Cherry-Evans made his Origin debut off the bench in 2013 in a Maroons team featuring Queensland greats Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Slater.

He played six games before spending three years in the Origin wilderness amid claims his style didn’t suit the Queensland team.

He fought his way back into the Maroons fold in Game Three of the 2018 series and played the next 20 straight Origin matches, captaining Queensland in 19 of those.

Until Slater wielded the axe this week, seemingly bringing an end to one of Queensland’s great Origin careers.

At 36, Cherry-Evans became the oldest player in the concept’s history when he led the Maroons out at Suncorp Stadium a fortnight ago.

But he will not add to his tally when the Maroons attempt to save the series in Perth next week.