The 1980s gave us so many wonderful things, including MTV, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Crocodile Dundee, Madonna – and Daly Cherry-Evans.
The Manly skipper said his Sea Eagles teammates and friends had gone out of their way to remind him he was the last of a kind in rugby league.
Jesse Bromwich was the only other player born in the 1980s, but the Dolphins’ front-rower retired at the end of 2024.
“I don’t know what to make of it all to be honest – I can tell you when you start out in your career, you never dream about becoming the oldest player in the NRL,” Cherry-Evans, who was born on February 20, 1989, told this masthead.
“I know the boys get a good laugh out of it, that’s for sure. So do some of my mates who have sent me messages.
1980s icons: Scott and Charlene, Crocodile Dundee, Daly Cherry-Evans, Madonna and Tab cola. Credit: Marija Ercegovac
“We’ve got a player here, Joey Walsh, he’s a young half coming through – he’s a rugby protégé – but he’s only 18, which means I’m double his age.
“I only lived in the 1980s for one year. Obviously I don’t remember it. I did remember the 1990s. I loved Tina Turner’s Simply The Best.”
When this masthead asked him to complete a 1980s pop quiz, he knew Canberra won the 1989 grand final, but had no idea Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan played Scott and Charlene in Neighbours, and thought a Commodore 64 was a ute. It was a computer.
There has been plenty of focus on Cherry-Evans and whether he plays on in 2026. He is leaning towards going around again, but also grateful the club is not demanding an answer any time soon.
The playmaker has not let his birth certificate stop him from leading the way again during the pre-season.
“It’s just a number, and as long as you’re doing the work, physically and mentally ... the only reason it could start to limit you is if you start to believe it,” he said.
“I know I won’t run any faster, I know I won’t get heaps stronger in the gym, but as long as I don’t go backwards. It’s about maintaining at this age.
“I haven’t dropped off. History suggests physically you will slow down at some stage, but it hasn’t happened yet.”
The Sea Eagles have lightened Cherry-Evans’ workloads at the start of each pre-season. He has stopped lifting heavy weights during the past couple of years.
Cliff Lyons was nearly 38 when he eventually finished up with Manly in 1999, and Cherry-Evans was convinced the lifestyle on the northern beaches played a role in his own longevity.
“Maybe there’s something in the water over here,” he said.
“Down-time is really important. Having a young family on the northern beaches, days off are really days off. .. It’s a beautiful way to live your life, and I never take that for granted. I never take my football for granted.”