Daly Cherry-Evans’ backflip leaves NRL fans with a bad taste in the mouth
YOU have to admire how Daly Cherry-Evans has handled himself under the inconsistencies of his decision, but something about this whole saga does not feel right.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
NOT all of it makes sense at Manly. Daly Cherry-Evans handled himself tremendously under the inconsistencies of his decision and explanation, but something about it does not feel right.
Ultimately, Cherry-Evans said the chief reason to stay at Manly was “the opportunity to be a one-club player”.
So that opportunity wasn’t there when he signed with the Gold Coast in March?
DCE DECISION: Cherry-Evans signs ‘lifetime contract’ with Manly
BEN IKIN: How Daly Cherry-Evans can rebuild his reputation
COMMENT: DCE backflip should never have been allowed to unfold
DCE BACKFLIP: What it means for Cherry-Evans, Sea Eagles, Titans
Manly chief executive Joe Kelly, speaking with the disadvantage of the game’s worst comb-over, confirmed as much by saying Cherry-Evans will stay at Manly as long as he plays in the NRL.
“What does this mean?” Kelly said. “This represents a significant commitment to the club and rewards Daly for his loyalty, achievements and stature in the game.”
Loyalty?
Owner Scott Penn could not properly explain why Manly never wanted him to be a one-club player back when the original deal was offered, saying something about the ownership problems at the club and how the Penn family did not gain full ownership of the club until October last year.
Which, those with an eye for dates might notice, still gave them a full six months to negotiate with Cherry-Evans before, again, he signed with the Gold Coast in March.
Asked what changed, Cherry-Evans said: “That offer in particular. The opportunity to stay here and be a one club player.
“That’s what was so enticing.
“In rugby league, job security isn’t something that many people have and it’s something that I’ve been offered and it’s something that I’m more than happy to take up.”
So the Gold Coast offered no job security?
Not at all, Cherry-Evans said.
“So you can only imagine how secure this one is.”
And that might be the problem.
With so little concrete information offered publicly about the details of the offer that caused biggest backflip in the game’s history, the imagination ran wild.
Nobody expects Manly to talk about the financial terms of the deal but nobody would explain why the club could not talk about the length of the contract.
All anybody could say was that Cherry-Evans would be at the club “for life”.
“That’s private,” Cherry-Evans said.
This must be some deal, as you can see.
Cherry-Evans is 25 and could quite conceivably play 10 more years.
Or he could wreck a knee and never play again after this weekend. What happens then?
Any deal to pay Cherry-Evans beyond his ability to run on to Brookvale Oval would be in defiance of the salary cap.
And it is illegal under common law to sign a contract in perpetuity, so there has to be a defined contract period.
The contract lodged with the NRL is for eight years. Why wouldn’t anybody publicly identify exactly how long the contract was for?
Yet, shrouded in secrecy, this was the key to the Manly deal.
After losing Cherry-Evans in March and Kieran Foran soon after Manly knew they had to come up with a left-field offer to retain at least one of them and Cherry-Evans was seen as the most vulnerable.
Almost from the moment he signed he left the door open for a Manly counter offer. The Titans offer was significant, but had to be trumped.
It was then the offer to sign Cherry-Evans for the rest of his career was proposed. The length of it and the size of it was unlike anything that had been offered.
Cherry-Evans will now be given unprecedented power at Manly in coming seasons. The internal politics that have undermined the club for the past two seasons now have a clear winner.
You’re either with Cherry-Evans, or about to be looking for a job.
Originally published as Daly Cherry-Evans’ backflip leaves NRL fans with a bad taste in the mouth
SBW won two World Cups with the All Blacks. He says his NRL premierships mean more
Sonny Bill Williams has admitted he holds his two NRL premiership triumphs with the Bulldogs and the Roosters above his World Cup wins with the All Blacks in terms of importance.
Latrell’s No.1 shift is about more than dosh. Coaches are turning players into robots
Mark Geyer believes Latrell Mitchell’s desire to play fullback is the result of frustration that coaches are turning players of certain positions into robots.