Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans understands tough stance on foul play but wants greater balance
Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans believes the NRL’s crackdown on foul play is right as long as it is executed correctly.
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Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans has backed the NRL’s tough stance on foul play for the benefit of the game’s long-term future but wants officials to find the right balance following a record 14 sin bins and three send-offs in Magic Round.
A memorable weekend of games at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium was overshadowed by the league’s strict new crackdown, which also included 10 charges and Canberra prop Josh Papalii copping a three-week high tackle ban that will rule him out of the opening State of Origin match for Queensland.
League fans and legends alike have criticised the decision to take a harsher stance due to fears it would change the fabric of rugby league.
Cherry-Evans understands why the game needs to eradicate foul play but believes it can’t be over the top when it comes to sin bins and send-offs.
“I’m on-board with what they are trying to do there, but I don’t think we’ve got the balancing of it all,” Cherry-Evans said.
“There were some incidents that players might consider as minor offences, so we are still going to get that teething from it.
“The game has got the game’s best interests at heart, so that is fine, and I think the players understand that, but we’ve just got to get the balancing act of it right.
“I think they (the NRL) have gone as hard as the possibly can, but I think that somewhere in between is the right way.
“But it (the crackdown) is definitely going to be a good thing for this game, the longevity of it and enticing young kids to play the game.”
Cherry-Evans also doubles as the general president of the Rugby League Players’ Association.
He plans to contact RLPA chief executive Clint Newton about the NRL’s tough focus on foul play.
“I’m sure I will have a chat to Newto about it (the crackdown),” he said.
“It will be interesting to see where he stands with it all.”
Cherry-Evans may not be happy with the record number of sin bins particularly, but he wasn’t surprised to see it in action given the memo from ARLC chairman Peter V’landys was made clear during the week.
He just feels the added focus on removing high shots will take time for the players, and coaches, to adjust.
“I think the message came through that this was going to be a good thing for the game,” he said.
“We are trying to scare away that image that rugby league can often have with the thuggery.
“You can’t shoulder charge anymore, you can’t punch anymore, and you can’t hit someone high.
“These things are always going to be hard to crack down on at the start, but like I said, everyone has got the game’s best interests at heart.
“So, moving forward it is going to be all right, it is just because it made such a bang on the weekend that it is a big talking point.”
Cherry-Evans’ Manly side will look to continue their winning ways when they take on the second-placed Eels at Bankwest Stadium on Sunday.
The Sea Eagles will be without five-eighth Kieran Foran after he fractured his hand, but the likes of Josh Schuster and Cade Cust are ready to wear the No 6 jumper.
Schuster, who has re-signed until the end of 2024, is the club’s future five-eighth, but Cherry-Evans says the club has options.
“I think Cade Cust might have something to say about that, but I think Josh would be more than capable of playing five-eighth this weekend,” he said.
“Cust has also played a bit of five-eighth, so I don’t know what the coaching staff are thinking.
“But Josh is going to be hard to move out of the position he has been playing in, to be fair.
“He is going that well at backrow, so the coaching staff have got a decision to make.”
Originally published as Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans understands tough stance on foul play but wants greater balance
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