NRL 2024: Andrew Johns believes Daly Cherry-Evans could play until 40
Maroons captain Daly Cherry-Evans has no plans to walk away from State of Origin and Immortal Andrew Johns reckons the Manly star can create NRL history and play beyond his 40th birthday.
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Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans has no plans to retire from the Origin arena as Immortal Andrew Johns predicted the Manly star could create NRL history and play until he is 40.
Cherry-Evans has started the season in a purple patch of form, piloting the Sea Eagles to a top four spot after eight rounds.
It has been 13 years since a baby-faced Cherry-Evans won the 2011 premiership in his debut NRL campaign, which remains the last time the Sea Eagles tasted title success.
A burning desire to add another premiership to his glittering resume is inspiring Cherry-Evans in the twilight of his career.
But this latter stage may only just be beginning, such has been the stunning form of ‘DCE’ over the past few years.
At 35, Cherry-Evans is showing no signs of father time or slowing down. In fact, his form has been so good this season that Johns believes he could play another five years.
Former Cronulla captain Paul Gallen holds the record for the oldest player in the NRL era, turning out for the Sharks at 38 in 2019.
After producing a sublime pass in Manly’s 32-18 win over Parramatta on Friday night, Johns claimed Cherry-Evans could create NRL history by becoming the first player to reach 40.
“That pass from Cherry-Evans has made my weekend. That’s as good as it gets,” he said on Channel 9.
“He’s still got his speed. He’s getting better.
“He has to play for another two or three years. He may play until he’s 40.”
Cherry-Evans, who is facing a two-game suspension for a dangerous throw on Eels forward Shaun Lane, is contracted at Manly until the end of next year and hopes to extend his tenure into 2026, and potentially beyond.
He would have to be playing in 2029 to reach 40, a herculean effort which would see Cherry-Evans enter a stunning 19th NRL season.
Melbourne legend Cameron Smith played until 37 and holds the NRL record with 430 games across 19 seasons, although he only played two games in his debut 2002 campaign.
If Cherry-Evans wants to reach the magical 400-game mark he would have to play until at least 2027.
That isn’t out of the question given how durable the Mackay product has been throughout a 313-game NRL career, having played at least 20 matches in all but one season (19 games in 2016).
To prolong their careers in the NRL, Maroons legends Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk and Smith retired from the representative arena in their later years to focus on club football.
But Cherry-Evans, a statesman of 22 Origin appearances, has been so buoyed by his late-career flourish that he has no plans to follow suit, at least in the short-term.
“At this stage of my career, I’m not ready to say no to Origin,” he said.
“I get that it can change. I don’t know if it’s your mind or body that tells you. Right now, I don’t have either of those telling me to stop playing.
“I’ll be playing my best for Manly to hopefully get picked for Queensland this year.
“I try to look after myself. Playing in this competition is tough. Week-to-week, I’ve got to put the work in. It doesn’t just happen.
“You play sore, injured and busted in the NRL. You’ve got to do your best to feel as close to 100 per cent as you can.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into a week. It’s not just me, most of the guys are putting in the work, especially the boys over 30.”
In a month’s time, Queensland coach Billy Slater will pick his team for Game One of the Origin series in Sydney on June 5.
The first name on the team sheet will be Cherry-Evans with a ‘c’ next to it as the Maroons chase a hat-trick of series wins under Slater.
Cherry-Evans doesn’t believe the Maroons will be complacent given their recent Origin dominance.
“I believe the drive is still there,” he said.
“It’s a pretty young group outside of Ben Hunt, Cam Munster and myself. I’d be very surprised if anyone walks in complacent.
“If you do that, there’s a fair chance you don’t even get picked. You need to be playing really good footy to be picked for Queensland.
“Once you’re there, I don’t believe Billy, his staff or the playing group have that mentality. I haven’t seen it and I’d be very surprised to see it this year.
“The desire to win has always been in this group and I’ve got no doubt it will be there again this year.”
After hopefully clinching a three-peat of Origin series wins, Cherry-Evans wants to hoist the Provan-Summons Trophy on NRL grand final day.
Manly is looking like a top eight team this year and no player at the Sea Eagles wants to win another title more than Cherry-Evans.
“I’ve still got a heap of drive to keep competing. That’s why the fire burns to play for Queensland and Australia,” he said.
“The fire in my belly is still there to win another competition with Manly late in my career. The opportunities I have are getting smaller because I don’t have long left. It would be a really special moment to win another.
“I think we’re an improved team on last year, but an improved team doesn’t get you anywhere. The competition is always changing and developing. We need to be better to even make the finals.
“For us to think about winning a comp is great, but the reality is we’ve got a long season ahead of us and a lot of hard work.”
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Originally published as NRL 2024: Andrew Johns believes Daly Cherry-Evans could play until 40
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