Titans fans urged not to booo DCE.
www.goldcoastbulliten.com
DALY Cherry-Evans’ first coach has warned Gold Coast fans to boo him at their peril as Manly’s $10 million man prepares for his grudge match with the Titans.
Cherry-Evans will be public enemy No.1 when he runs onto Cbus Super Stadium on Monday night — exactly 40 days after he sensationally reneged on his $4 million deal with the Titans.
Titans mentor Neil Henry said he held no ill-will towards Cherry-Evans, but many Coast fans will be less forgiving after the Manly ace’s bombshell left the club’s recruitment plans in tatters.
Touted as Queensland’s next captain, Cherry-Evans was given a public roasting last month when Broncos fans incessantly booed him, 48 hours after he backflipped on the Titans.
Cherry-Evans could deal a near terminal blow to the Titans’ finals hopes, but the man who helped launch his NRL career admits a vitriolic reception could play into his hands.
“The more they boo him, the more it will motivate him,” said Craig Ingebrigtsen, the Easts Tigers coach who mentored Cherry-Evans as a 17-year-old at Wests Panthers.
“Daly will just turn up to work and do his job. He is the mentally toughest player I have seen and he doesn’t care where he plays, he will run out there and do the job professionally.
“Whatever has happened with the Titans has happened. In Daly’s eyes, he just makes sure he ticks the right boxes for his family and he will get the job done.
“Ever since I’ve known Daly, he has been a winner. I don’t know where he gets his mental toughness but even as a kid he wanted to be the best he could be.
“Daly is simply uncompromising, nothing fazes him ... nothing the Titans fans will do will put him off his game.”
While Henry is getting on with business, privately there are elements at the Titans who remain filthy on Cherry-Evans for failing to honour his word.
The backflip has had a seismic impact on the Titans’ recruitment-and-retention strategy. The club was prepared to lose Aidan Sezer to Canberra and when Cherry-Evans opted to stay at Manly, it was too late to prise the classy pivot from the Raiders.
Henry admits he is now scrambling to find a halves partner for Kane Elgey next season, but says there is no point being bitter towards Cherry-Evans.
“If the crowd makes a bit more noise, that’s good. I’m not too fussed about it,” he said.
“I’m not even thinking about it, it’s done and dusted for me. I haven’t lost any sleep over it. Daly made the call and at the time he went through the right channels.
“I knew. He spoke to me personally, so I haven’t got a problem with him.
“It did have ramifications for our recruitment, there’s no doubt about that. Our offer to Aidan Sezer would have been changed.
“Missing out on Daly affects your numbers with recruitment because it was such a substantial sum in our cap, so we have to get our recruitment right.
“The players aren’t too concerned, they will get on with playing footy, there’s no reason for them to fire up.
“There might be a bit of banter with the crowd, but I’ve accepted what’s happened.
“Daly has chosen to stay at Manly, they made an attractive offer to keep him, and now we have to look forward.”